Letters to Juliet
by jessiestar
Summary: So this is very similar to the film but with the characters from South of Nowhere. Spencer is in italy with her fiancee and she gets involved in teh Juliet Secretaries. She is touched by one letter that leads her to Ashley Davies...
1. Chapter 1

So this is yet another new story and yes the idea is completely stolen from the film of the same name. I thought it would be a really good Spashley story, so read, review, add but most of all enjoy.

Loves me xx

Letters to Juliet Chapter 1

Spencer Carlin had been a fact checker at the New Yorker for the past 2 years since graduating from Brown with a degree in English and Journalism. She loved her job and the people she was able to talk to. As much as she enjoyed fact checking for one of the greatest publications of all time Spencer always wanted to write but she had never been given the encouragement she needed.

Heading up to head editors office Spencer knocked politely as she eyed the pieces she had been working on. She had spent the last working twice as hard as she was leaving for Verona in the morning with her boyfriend/fiancée.

"Come in" A loud voice called from behind the door. Spencer pushed the door opened and smiled her nicest smile to her boss.

"Good afternoon Carlin you got it all for me?" The short dark haired man asked signalling for Spencer to pass the work to him.

"Yes Don, both articles are checked and confirmed"

"Confirmed by somebody who was actually there?" Don asked checking over the information.

"Don I'm a fact checker, it's kind of my job to check the facts" Spencer joked getting a kind smile from Don.

"Well good work Carlin, as always. So you finish today?"

"Yes, we fly out in the morning and I'll be gone for 2 months"

"Wow, ok well have fun"

"Actually I wanted to talk to you before I leave" Spencer said finally getting the courage from somewhere.

"What's up Carlin?"

"I was thinking that maybe when I get back, I could erm, maybe write an article or story for you" Spencer stuttered her way through the sentence losing her normal Carlin charm.

"You're a great fact checker Carlin but you're not a writer, I'm sorry"

"How do you know I'm not a writer? You've never read anything I've written" Spencer challenged getting her confidence back ever so slightly.

"Have you written anything?" Don responded smiling smugly but only in a playful way.

"Not exactly no but I can write something for you"

"k I like you Carlin so I'm going to give you a shot, put pen to paper and come see me when you get back from your Italian adventure" Don smiled sweetly as Spencer let a slight squeak escape her lips. She nodded and left the room before Don could change his mind. Walking back to her office that she shares with a few other people she closed the door and let out an excited yelp causing everybody to look at her.

"It's not 5 o'clock yet Spence don't get too excited" A smiling Latino girl said looking up from her computer at the over excited blonde girl.

"He's giving me a shot Maddy" Spencer squealed again.

"Who?"

"Don, he said I can write something and he'll read it. I need to start now..." Spencer started flapping around her desk much to everyone's entertainment.

"Chica you need to get your ass home and pack so you on your pre-wedding honeymoon with your beautiful boy" Madison reminded Spencer.

"Right, yes. Ok well I'm going to go and I'll see ya'll when I get back" Spencer announced grabbing what she needed from her desk. She shared hugs with everybody and then headed back to the apartment she shared with her boyfriend/fiancée.

Entering her apartment she smelt the familiar scent of fresh food been created in the kitchen. Dropping her things in the living room Spencer made her way to the kitchen only to be stopped in her tracks by the mess.

"Jesus Aiden we leave in like 12 hours for Verona and you've turned the apartment in a pasta factory" Spencer snapped as she continued to eye the huge mess. A tall dark haired guy turned to smile at the angry blonde. As soon as his sparkling green eyes met with Spencer's light blue her heart melted.

"Spencer, I promise you that this is worth it. Check out this noodle" He instructed placing a long noodle into her mouth stepping back and waiting for her opinion. Trying food had become a huge part of Spencer's life since she started dating Aiden. He was insanely passionate about food and drink which is why he was opening a new restaurant in the city.

"It's a good noodle" Spencer replied smiling hoping that would be the right answer so she wouldn't have to stand there all evening trying pasta or noodles or whatever when she should be packing for their holiday.

"Grazie la mia bella regazza!" Aiden said kissing Spencer passionately and picking her up carrying her towards the bedroom, Spencer figured they could pack later.

Verona...

Spencer looked at the apartment that Aiden had organised for them and it was exactly how she had imagined it would be. Spencer had been in love with Italy since reading Romeo and Juliet as a child. She loved the passion that Italian people had which is probably why she fell for Aiden. He was half Italian from his Mother's side which where he also got his passion for cooking from. Spencer loved Aiden's passion and respected him so much for putting everything on the line to open a restaurant but along with his great passion came an arrogant streak that often caused slight rifts between the young couple.

They had been in Verona for about a day now and Spencer was dying to do all the touristy stuff. Entering the apartment she found Aiden on the phone talking in Italian and no matter how much Spencer tried but she couldn't grasp the dialect that was used by Aiden and his family.

"Baby I have organised a perfect day for us" Aiden beamed as he put his phone down scooping Spencer up again in his muscular arms.

"Really? I have so many places I want to see"

"And you will baby but first let me take you somewhere"

"Where are we going?" Spencer asked excited mostly because she would get some of Aiden's limited time.

"To this beautiful Vineyard about 20 miles from here, the gentleman who owns may be one of my new suppliers for the restaurant" Aiden explained causing Spencer to lose interest quite quickly.

"Why do I need to be there if you're going to be doing business stuff"

"Because Spencer I need to do my business 'stuff' and you want to spend time with me, it's win win really honey" Aiden answered kissing Spencer's forehead. Spencer smile politely and agreed to the day out figuring that it would be fantastic to see some other parts of Verona as well as tasting some lovely food.

How wrong Spencer was, she spent the day following Aiden around as he got stupidly excited about cheese and wine. Spencer had tried her best to be interested but cheese was just cheese to her and they weren't even supposed to drink the wine, they just wasted it by spitting it out. By the third vineyard Spencer had given up and fallen to sleep in the car while Aiden went ahead and made stupid noises about olive oil that just tasted the same as the ones they used in New York.

Spencer woke up the next day feeling refreshed and ready to go see everything on her list. She was excited about the art galleries, the parks and most of all Juliet's house. Entering the living room she saw Aiden on the phone once again and he gave her the gorgeous Aiden smiled that had melted her heart so many times.

"Morning Bella" Aiden whispered hugging Spencer.

"Morning baby, look Aiden I was thinking today that we could do a few things on my list like we discussed before we came" Spencer went straight in for the kill knowing that you had to be blunt with Aiden to get his attention.

"About that Spencer, I can't today, I'm really busy"

"Aid you promised me before we left New York and you promised me yesterday that if I came with you we could do these things" Spencer snapped hoping guilt would work.

"Spencer this is a business trip that I asked you to come on. At no point did I say that we would be able to do all this tourist stuff. I want to see these places with you but I can't at the moment. I promise we can work something out in the next few days, just let me get all the business crap out the way and then I will give you the holiday you deserve" Aiden smiled sweetly turning on his charm which wasn't hard.

"Fine, I'm going out" Spencer moaned grabbing her purse and slamming the door for effect.

Spencer had enjoyed her afternoon of sightseeing and she had saved the best until last. Entering the small court yard Spencer's breathe hitched in her throat. It was everything she had imagined as a child, the balcony, the vines and the sheer beauty of it. In the middle of the court stood a golden statue of Juliet that tourists would rub for good luck when it came to love and relationships. Spencer stopped as she approached the wall that was beneath the balcony. The wall was covered in hand written letters, tucked into holes in the walls, stuck with tacks. There were a few women that were sat writing letters looking at the wall for inspiration or just reassurance as they wrote their letters. Spencer watched in amazement as these women sealed the letters and added them to the already full wall, and then they simply left some in tears, some looking more hopeful than when they had first arrived. Spencer felt inspired by the raw emotion and romanticism that surrounded the wall so she took out her book and starting jotting down thoughts and feelings.

After a while Spencer's writing was disturbed by a woman who was removing the letters from the wall with extreme caution. The rest of the court yard was empty apart from Spencer and this woman with the wicker basket full of letters written by all these women from different walks of life. Intrigued by the woman's actions Spencer followed her to see where she was taking the letters and hoping to god that they didn't just get thrown out. Spencer followed the lady down the street and into a seemingly empty restaurant with the journey finally ending up stairs next to a kitchen. Knocking on the door Spencer entered the room which was populated by 5 women from different age brackets.

"Ciao lei parla inglese?" Spencer asked feeling a bit awkward as the women stared at her for a moment.

"Can we help?" The woman who had removed the letters asked smiling kindly at Spencer who was happy that they spoke English otherwise the conversation would have ended after establishing names and where the disco is.

"Yes please accept my apologies for intruding but I just needed to see what you were doing with the letters?" Spencer continued.

"Why are you concerned by this?" The dark haired middle aged lady asked.

"Erm, I just saw the emotion that so many people put into those letters today and I would be heartbroken to think that they were just thrown away" Spencer admitted feeling stupid for being so sappy.

"Sweetheart we are Juliet's secretaries" An older lady giggled much to everyone else amusement.

"Juliet's secretaries?" Spencer asked lamely

"Si, we take the letters and we write back"

"You reply to all those letters on behalf of Juliet Capulet?"

"Yes"

"That's incredible, why do you do that?"

"Because that wall gives people hope, people that are heartbroken, lost, scared or alone"

"ORARIO CENA" An Old Italian woman yelled as she walked past Spencer holding a huge dish full of food. Spencer watched as the elderly lady and the letter writers conversed.

"Would like to stay to eat dear?" Somebody asked.

"That's very kind but I must get back to my Fiancée" Spencer admitted quite annoyed that she couldn't stay and learn more. Her words made the other ladies smile in the way that most old people do when they are told about a pending marriage.

"You're engaged but no ring?" The old chef asked in broken English.

"Erm, I didn't want a ring, seemed silly" Spencer lied, in reality Aiden had asked her but had spent the money for the ring on the restaurant, he promises that he will buy her one someday but it had never bothered Spencer.

"Take desert" The elderly lady instructed thrusting a brown bag in to Spencer's hands.

"Grazi"

"What is your name dear?"

"Spencer Carlin"

"That is a very unusual name for a girl but I like it. Well I am Maria, this Bella, Eva, Elizabeth and Sophia" The middle aged lady said kindly.

"It was lovely meeting you all, good luck the letter writing" Spencer took her desert and headed back to the apartment. She was so excited by the idea of Juliet's secretaries and the work they did. Aiden was already back and was cooking the evening meal. He greeted Spencer with a glass of red wine which she knew would be divine knowing Aiden.

"I had the most amazing day Aiden, Verona is incredible" Spencer gushed as she sipped her wine.

"Yes I know that's why I came here Spencer" Aiden interrupted which perturbed Spencer slightly.

"I went to Juliet's garden today and..."

"You went to a fictional characters garden?" Aiden interrupted again.

"Yes Aiden and anyway there is this wall where people leave letters to Juliet and there are these women who write back..."

"What is that smell?" Aiden asked sniffing the air, his eyes landing on the paper bag that Spencer had brought with her from the restaurant.

"So these women..."

"Spencer where did you get this from?" Aiden asked getting into foodie mode as he took a bit from the small cup cake that was once in the brown bag.

"I'm trying to tell you, I met these women and they work above a restaurant" Spencer explained as Aiden continued to bite into her gift.

"Try this Spencer"

"It's ok you seem to be enjoying it for the both of us" Spencer snapped.

"I must meet the person responsible for this"

"I can take you there tomorrow if you like?" Spencer gave up carrying once she established that this would be the best way to get to see the ladies at work.

"That would be wonderful Spencer, thank you" Aiden smiled kissing Spencer passionately before they fell backwards onto the bed.

The next afternoon once Aiden had finished on his phone speaking loudly in Italian Spencer showed him where she had been yesterday. Heading up the narrow stair case Spencer hoped that the ladies wouldn't mind her coming back and bringing Aiden with her. Poking her head around the corner she was greeted by a table full of smiles as all the women started to recognise her.

"Spencer, welcome back" Maria announced kissing Spencer on the cheek with her eyes landing on Aiden.

"And who is this lovely young boy?" Sophia asked from the table.

"Oh I'm sorry this is my Fiancée Aiden, Aiden these are Juliet's secretaries"

"Lovely to meet you Ladies, it seems you have captured Spencer's attention with you letters and whoever made that delicious pastry yesterday has captured mine" Aiden replied applying the charm that the older ladies loved.

"Well Aiden you should relay your compliments to my Mother who is right through there" Maria advised pointing at the little woman who was flapping around the kitchen waving knives and other utensils. Aiden smiled gratefully and headed into the kitchen.

"He is very easy on the eyes Spencer" One of the ladies said looking up from her writing.

"I suppose he is" Spencer smiled as Aiden came back into the room after a very loud interaction with Maria's Mother.

"Baby, Angelina would like to show me some recipes do you mind?" Aiden asked knowing that Spencer would be annoyed.

"But we were going to go to the gallery?"

"Ok...but I can learn so much from the lovely Angelina"

"And I will spend the rest of the day on my own?" Spencer snapped forgetting they were in company.

"I don't mean to interrupt but Spencer you could help us, you can be one of Juliet's secretaries" Maria offered picking up on Spencer's annoyance.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, you have a passion Spencer that our lost friends would be fond of"

"Wonderful you write your little letters and I will learn some tricks in the kitchen, it's win win baby" Aiden smiled and Spencer couldn't help but smile back.

Spencer spent the rest of the afternoon reading letters from broken heart women from around the world and trying to pen the write reply. It was far more difficult than she had imagined but she enjoyed the challenge. Once they returned home Aiden was straight back on his mobiles boasting about the cooking lessons her had just been given by Maria's Mother. Once he finished his phone call Aiden sauntered over to Spencer rubbing his chin, she knew that this meant he wanted to ask something she wouldn't be happy with.

"So I can't do the galleries tomorrow honey"

"Shocking!Why not?" Spencer asked already knowing the answer really.

"I was going to head to a farm to see a guy about some cheese. I know I promised but I figured that as we are here for so long that maybe you could take the time I'm busy and write some letters to scorned women"

"They're not scorned, some of them are heartbroken beyond repair" Spencer argued knowing that it would be pointless as everything in Aiden land was black and white unless it was food related.

"Ok I'm so sorry, didn't mean to upset you sweetie"

"Will you at least attempt to keep your promise of spending some time with me?"

"Spencer Carlin, I promise you will have my undivided attention once I return" Aiden promised kissing Spencer again to which she responded with the same amount of passion. Aiden always had a way of stopping her from being mad at him although sometimes she thought that she had given up knowing that there was no use in arguing.

The following morning Spencer headed over to Juliet's garden to see that a fresh load of letters had been attached to the wall and there was Maria taking them down as she always did.

"Buon giorno Maria" Spencer said as she approached the wall.

"Good morning young Spencer" Maria smiled taking the letters from the wall.

"Can I help?" Spencer offered.

"Are you sure you don't have anything better to do with your vacation?"

"I'm here for 3 months and Aiden has gone away for a few days. Plus I really enjoyed helping yesterday so I was hoping I could maybe help you out for the next few days?"

"That would be lovely"

Spencer smiled gratefully and started taking letters from the wall, as she pulled on one that was wedged between two bricks one of the bricks came lose revealing a hole in the wall. Inside the hole was what seemed to be a letter so being a naturally nosy person, Spencer took the letter out and started reading it. Showing the letter to Maria they headed upstairs to show the others.

"This letter was written 50 years ago, god the woman is heartbroken, and her words are so beautiful. I need to write her back" Spencer said out loud after reading the letter for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

"Spencer she more than likely doesn't even live at that address anymore" Eva rationalised smiling kindly at the over excited American girl.

"But what if she is still waiting for Lorenzo to find her? I know it's probably too late but her letter should've been read 50 years ago" Spencer ranted passionately.

"Ok, ok, ok Spencer write to this Clare Davies and see what happens" Maria advised loving the young girls passion and drive, something that had led Spencer to that room in the first place. Spencer took her time and wrote the letter, putting herself in Clare's shoes, imagining how she must've felt when she left without seeing Lorenzo. Spencer put everything into the letter hoping her words would give the right sentiment if they were ever read by the right person. Dropping the letter into the post box Spencer left for home wondering if Aiden would actually be there, shockingly he wasn't.

As the first week in Verona came and went Spencer barely started to notice Aiden's absence and took the time to enjoy herself by spending time with Juliet's secretaries or sightseeing with locals rather than tourists. As a thank you for their kindness Spencer had purchased some fresh pastries for the women hoping Maria's Mother wouldn't be there until later when the pastries were truly gone. The ladies appreciated the kind gesture and took about eating the pastries with perfect coffee.

As they continued their writing they were disturbed by a knock at the door, all eyes shot up to see a small brunette girl, with dark, curly brown hair and incredible golden brown eyes stood in the door way.

"Can we help?" Maria asked politely.

"Yes I'm looking for whoever wrote this letter to my grandmother Clare Davies?" The brunette asked holding the pink envelope that Spencer had posted only a week or so ago.

"I did, did she get it?" Spencer asked over exited but the polite smile on the girls face disappeared.

"Oh so you're who I point my anger towards?" The girl snapped waving the letter about.

"Anger?" Spencer asked confused now standing in front of the angry girl.

"Yes because of you fake Juliet my Gran has come all the way to Verona to find some guy she met 50 years ago" The girl explained still no calmer but Spencer didn't care.

"Clare Davies is here?"

"Yes"

"I need to see her"

"Oh no you don't Blondie, consider this a friendly warning" The girl growled as she headed out the room leaving Spencer slightly dumbfounded for a number of reasons.

**A/N**

**So I know this chapter is long and Splashyless but it will be worth it in the long run. I apologise for the bad Italian and hope I didn't offend anyone (assuming anybody reads this) Any questions or reviews you know what to do.**

**Jess x**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thank you for all the reviews!was very surprised when I woke up this morning. I'm glad everybody is liking the concept and hope you all keep reading. I would recommend the film but maybe wait until I've finished this so it doesn't ruin it for you. Anyway keep reviewing and if you have questions just let me know x**

Letters to Juliet- Chapter 2

Ashley left the building without a second thought not wanting to let her anger get the better of her like it normally does. She felt almost bad for shouting at that Spencer girl but she was annoyed that somebody had involved them self in somebody else life. Ashley headed back to Juliet's garden where she had left her Gran while she hunted down the person responsible for the ridiculous letter. Entering the court yard Ashley couldn't help but smile as she approached her Gran who looked happy to be back in the town where she spent so much of her child hood.

"Did you find an ATM Ashley?" Her Gran asked as she joined her by the wall.

"Erm yes" Ashley lied averting her eyes from her Gran's as she hated lying. As she looked around the court yard she spotted the blonde girl that she had just gone off at, she was stood shyly by the entrance of the court yard.

"Can you not take a hint?" Ashley snapped walking towards Spencer who didn't look too upset by Ashley's attitude.

"I can when it is reasonable" Spencer threw back with a smug smile.

"Have you made a friend Ashley?" Ashley's Gran asked as she stood next to her feisty Granddaughter.

"Definitely not" Ashley snapped giving Spencer an evil look.

"Are you Clare Davies?" Spencer asked ignoring the death glares Ashley was throwing at her.

"Yes I am dear do I know you?"

"Come on Gran lets go back to the Villa" Ashley pleaded clearing wanting this interaction to continue.

"Ashley don't be so rude, this young lady is talking to me, if you don't like that then go somewhere else" Clare snapped.

"I'm Spencer; I replied to your letter, the letter you sent to Juliet" Spencer explained smiling widely hoping the older lady would be slightly more polite that her horrible grandchild.

"Thank you Spencer, thank you for your beautiful words, thank you for making an old lady happy" Clare smiled clutching the letter in her hands.

"You're more than welcome Miss Davies"

"Please call me Clare and my last name is actually Taylor now"

"Well it's nice to meet you Clare, erm if you don't mind me asking what happened with Lorenzo?" Spencer pried taking a seat next to Clare which clearly annoyed Ashley beyond belief.

"Excuse me" Ashley snapped grabbing Spencer's hand and pulling her out of ear shot of grandmother.

"Why are doing this?" Ashley asked releasing Spencer's hand.

"I have no idea what your problem is but just because you're a complete ass doesn't mean I'll ignore your grandmother"

"Look just because you are some lonely sad act with no boyfriend or whatever doesn't mean you should get involved in other people's lives. My Gran has had a wonderful life so she doesn't need you dragging up the past that clearly didn't matter that much to her anyway" Ashley continued her face getting slightly red by the time she finished her rant. She seemed annoyed that no matter how rude she was being it didn't seem to affect Spencer; the blonde still maintained a polite smile and happy demeanour.

"Firstly, I am engaged so you really have the wrong opinion of me. Secondly, what you deem as something that didn't matter to Clare clearly does because 50 years later she is stood in the same spot. The exact same spot that she stood in 50 years ago, when she was convinced she had lost the man of her dreams. Clearly you void of any emotion otherwise you would understand exactly why that woman is stood there. Look Ashley I am sorry if my letter has made Clare come here and ruin your summer vacation but and I'm guessing you don't hear this very often 'the world doesn't revolve around you' so stop being a brat" Spencer replied quite calmly which annoyed Ashley even further.

"Is everything ok between you two?" Clare asked standing up from the bench.

"Yes don't worry. So I would love to take you for a coffee Clare, maybe find out some more about what happened all those years ago?" Spencer asked hopeful that Clare would be willing to pour her heart out. Spencer's interest in the letter was purely curiosity at first but now she felt she might be able to find a story somewhere that would be worth telling.

"That sounds wonderful Spencer, doesn't it Ashley?" Clare replied with a knowing smile at Ashley who looked unimpressed still.

"Just delightful Gran" Ashley answered sarcastically.

Spencer took the Ashley and her Gran to the restaurant that Maria's family run and of course all the other secretaries came down and joined them making Ashley look less than happy.

"Are you intrigued to see what your Lorenzo is like now?" Once of the ladies asked as they poured some more wine.

"Of course, he was so handsome and kind, beautiful soul" Clare replied looking as if she were daydreaming.

"Well that's not an option we are going to visit family in Florence and there is no point in dragging up the past" Ashley interrupted.

"You're young Ashley and yet to find love but when you do you'll chase it even if it is 50 years later" Angelina said having not spoken much at all.

"Gran was only 15 when she met this Lorenzo guy which I doubt is an age that anybody can determine what love is. I'm 22 and I don't know what love is, I doubt whether it even exists" Ashley answered back causing all the women to gasp in shock, making Spencer laugh a little.

"Very cynical for somebody so young, it's sad. Look at Spencer here, she is engaged to a lovely man and they are deeply in love" Maria said using Spencer as an example which Spencer felt to be unfair, yes she loved Aiden and will marry him but it never felt like the love that Shakespeare spoke of in his plays or poetry. Ashley watched Spencer's face at the mention of her relationship and she spotted the slight look of doubt in her eyes.

"If Spencer is so happily engaged why isn't she wearing a ring, surely that is kind of important when it comes to being engaged" Ashley smirked, enjoying being able to challenge the polite blonde.

"Aiden is about to open a restaurant and I didn't want him to waste his money on a silly ring. We know love each other and that's all that matters" Spencer lied hoping Ashley wasn't intuitive as she seemed.

"I want to find Lorenzo" Clare announced from nowhere pulling Ashley and Spencer from their staring contest.

"That's insane Gran" Ashley said first.

"That's a wonderful idea Clare" Eva gushed in excitement.

"I think it's a fantastic idea as well" Maria added supporting her friend.

"No Gran, there are probably hundreds of Lorenzo Bartolini in Tuscany let alone the whole of Italy. I'm putting my foot down I'm afraid" Ashley said standing up clearly over the conversation. But her outburst only made everybody laugh.

"Ashley, I appreciate that you are trying to protect me but if I don't do this then I'll never know" Clare said holding her granddaughters hand. Just as Ashley went over the words in her head the moment was interrupted by a loud Aiden walking into the restaurant on his phone. Spencer rolled her eyes wanting to kick him for ruining a moment of what could have been romantic history.

"Ciao ladies" Aiden beamed hanging up his phone and kissing Spencer on the forehead.

"Ciao Aiden" The ladies all replied clearly infatuated with Spencer's pseudo fiancée.

"What are doing here baby?" Spencer asked standing up and taking Aiden aside.

"I needed to ask you something very important" Aiden explained taking Spencer's hand in his own.

"Yes?"

"I need to go away for a while; a friend can get me a ticket for a wine auction. This is a once in a life time opportunity Spencer and I really don't want to pass it up" Aiden continued having already made his mind up Spencer thought to herself.

"Jesus Aiden this is our holiday, some of which I would like to actually spend with you" Spencer argued trying to keep her voice low but her emotions were getting the better of her.

"Baby, this is important to me, please" Aiden pleaded.

"How long?"

"Not very long"

"How long Aiden?" Spencer said a lot louder than she had wanted to as now everybody at the table were looking at the couple.

"4 days tops" Aiden finally said.

"Fuck Aiden I thought you were going to say like a day or two"

"Spencer you have you letter writing thingy to keep you busy, you won't even notice I'm gone" Aiden rationalised. Spencer considered the option and thought that really she rarely knew where he was most of the time anyway.

"Fine, go" Spencer sighed defeated as she headed back to the group.

"Aiden is off to a wine auction so I will be able to help you for a few more days" Spencer announced to the rest of Juliet's secretaries.

"Wonderful, we love having you around Spencer" Maria smiled rubbing Spencer's arm.

"I have an idea" Clare said out loud.

"What's that then Grandmother?" Ashley asked even though she still had her eyes on Spencer slightly.

"Spencer can help us find Lorenzo, she now has some spare time as Aiden will be leaving her and it will be nice for you to have somebody around who is the same age" Clare answered smiling widely.

"I don't want to intrude Clare" Spencer replied politely as she looked at the expression on Ashley's face.

"Don't be silly Spencer, I have a feeling you will be far more helpful than my darling granddaughter here" Clare joked playfully poking Ashley who smiled a genuine smile for what seemed like the first time.

"Wonderful it's a win win situation baby" Aiden smiled pouring himself a glass of wine ignoring the look of pure annoyance on Spencer's face. Ashley watched the couple interact for a while and could tell in that short time that there was something missing or not quite right but it was none of her business so she pushed her thoughts aside.

"Gran it's late we should get back to the Villa" Ashley instructed.

"Yes you're right Ashley. Spencer would you like to meet us here tomorrow morning so we can start our journey?" Clare asked.

"As long as you're sure, both of you" Spencer replied aiming the statement more at Ashley than Clare.

"Whatever, it's not like anybody is listening to me anyway" Ashley sulked downing her glass of wine.

"Sorry what did you say?" Spencer joked getting an almost smile/ pout from Ashley.

"Funny as well as nosy, this is going to be funny" Ashley threw back in a slightly more playful tone than normal.

"Good night ladies, you are all wonderful. Aiden I hope the wine auction is everything you hope it to be. Spencer we will see you in the morning" Clare said all her personal goodbyes followed by Ashley who neglected to share the traditional goodbye as she had done with the older ladies.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I'm aiming for 2 updates today, possibly more. If you have read any of my previous stories you will know that I write and then post straight away so you literally get the chapters hot off the press. Enjoy and keep inflating my ego x**

Letters to Juliet- Chapter 3

Spencer watched as Aiden loaded up his stupidly small car and he seemed oblivious to Spencer's change in mood. As much as he could annoy her she would still miss him, she was used to having him there at some point of the day and she would miss that over the next few days. However on the other hand she was excited about the adventure she was about to embark on with Clare. Ashley on the other hand was a completely different story; she didn't seem to be warming to Spencer at all. Spencer could understand why this whole thing would be weird for Ashley but Spencer still found it frustrating at just how vocal she was about her dislike of finding Lorenzo.

"Have fun on your adventure Spencer, you will have so much fun" Aiden smiled as he scooped Spencer up in his arms, giving her a kiss which she enjoyed.

"I'd have more fun if I got to enjoy my holiday with my boyfriend"

"Baby this was a business trip so I'm doing business, I agreed you could come along but I didn't say you would have my undivided attention" Aiden replied matter of factly which just pissed Spencer off even more.

"How stupid of me, tell you what Aiden I'll just go find a nice cupboard to lock myself in and you can let me out whenever you need me" Spencer snapped pushing away from the huge frame that surrounded her.

"Baby don't be like that"

"What offended? Pissed off?"

"Is it that time of the month already Spencer?" Aiden joked earning him a death glare and no good bye kiss. Instead of giving in like she always did she stood her ground and walked off. Knowing too well that Aiden wouldn't follow her; instead he drove passed in his stupid little car beeping his stupid little horn which angered Spencer even more, so much that she kicked the curb.

"Little miss sunshine does get mad" A familiar voice said slightly further down the road. Spencer didn't need to look up to know who the owner of the husky voice was.

"I'm so glad you're here" Spencer quipped dropping her small suitcase next to what she assumed was Ashley's car. This was a real car unlike the joke of a car that Aiden had hired while they were there. Ashley's car was a huge black jeep wrangler and it was exactly the same style that Spencer wanted but was told that it didn't concern her.

"Well this is going to be fun" Ashley said under her breathe.

"Why are you so against this other than your lack of any human emotion?" Spencer snapped as she struggled with her bag.

"Because Spencer my Gran has been through a lot in her life, it hasn't been easy for her and now I'm worried that this will cause her more heartbreak which is something she doesn't need. Your stupid little letter has put some farfetched idea in her head that going on this wild goose chase will somehow stop her from feeling so lonely. I am terrified that we will find this guy and he will won't remember her or even worse he'll be dead, she won't be able to handle that no matter how happy and care free she seems" Ashley argued getting emotional which shocked Spencer considering how aloof Ashley had seemed yesterday. Taking in Ashley's flustered appearance Spencer didn't know how to react to the emotional outburst.

"So angry girl does have emotions" Spencer teased as she turned to greet Clare who was walking towards them. Spencer noticed the slight smile that Ashley tried to hide.

"Good morning girls are we getting on better than yesterday because I would hate to have pick my favourite" Clare smiled ignoring the tension that was always there between the blonde and brunette.

"We're like BFF's now Gran, we're gonna stay up all night braiding each other's and sharing stories about boys" Ashley mocked in an overly American accent.

"Don't be silly Ashley you don't like Boys" Clare responded shocking Spencer and clearly annoying Ashley. The cocky brunette was speechless for the first time since they had met and looked like a rabbit caught in head lights. Shaking off the moment Ashley opened the car throwing in the suitcases effortlessly and then helped her Gran into the passenger seat up front. Spencer followed suit and climbed into the back seat taking her note pad with her hoping to get some information about the romance that had happened all those years ago.

Ashley had seemingly taken a vow of silence and every now and then Spencer caught her chocolate brown eyes in the rear view window and then both girls would quickly avert their eyes. Ashley had handed Spencer a map as they got into the car, on it she had marked all the Lorenzo's that we driving distance. Spencer was surprised that the girl that was so against the idea had clearly spent a lot of her time organising the trip.

"So Spencer how long have you been with Aiden for?" Clare asked turning to look at Spencer in the back seat.

"About 5 years, we met as freshman in college, starting dating and the rest is history" Spencer replied sweetly as she noticed Ashley role her eyes in the mirror.

"How lovely, did he sweep you off your feet?" Clare asked reminding Spencer that she should be the one asking the questions.

"Not exactly no, it was slightly more gradual than that" Spencer answered feeling slightly embarrassed that her story didn't come with romantic gestures, confessions of undying love or anything special.

"You're time will come dear, everybody gets swept off their feet at some point"

"We're not as all as lucky as you Clare, you have met and fallen for two men" Spencer added smiling.

"Yes I have been extremely lucky, Jack and Lorenzo were both perfect for me" Clare responded staring out of the window noticing that they were getting closing to their first stop. After driving for an hour Spencer was happy she would be able to get out of the car. Ashley pulled up outside a small house with a blue door and lots of flowers in the window pots. Ashley helped Clare out of the car and stood solemnly next to the car.

"It's all you now Gran" Ashley smiled trying her best to encourage Clare.

"What if it's not him?" Clare asked nerves getting the better of her.

"What if it is?" Ashley replied to which Clare smiled and slowly walked towards the front door, tapping it lightly.

"I don't mind if you're gay" Spencer said standing next to Ashley who was watching her Gran with great interest.

"Awesome I was so worried" Ashley snapped clearly not happy to discuss the topic.

"Whatever" Spencer snapped and walked over to Clare who was talking to an old man in Italian, from Spencer's limited Italian she could tell that this wasn't the Lorenzo they were looking for. Spencer placed her hand on Clare's shoulder and politely thanked the gentleman for his time.

"Those weren't Lorenzo's eyes" Clare sighed.

"You remember his eyes after all this time?" Spencer asked racking her brain for Aiden's eye colour.

"It's all in the eyes sweetheart, when you love somebody you know their eyes. Every colour, shade and movement stays with you for life" Clare explained.

"Let me guess that wasn't our guy?" Ashley asked looking quite happy which annoyed Spencer beyond belief.

"Don't look so damn happy about it" Spencer growled as she climbed back into car. Spencer saw Clare scolding Ashley with her eyes for her rudeness which made Spencer smile slightly. Grabbing her note book Spencer started making some notes about the journey so far.

"What's with the book?" Ashley asked her curiosity finally getting the better of her as she watched the blonde scribble through the mirror.

"I'm writing"

"Clearly, what are you writing?"

"About Clare and Lorenzo"

"So you're using my grandmother to write some lame story?" Ashley was getting defensive again so Spencer decided not to anger her.

"Well not exactly no, I starting writing this before I even had the pleasure of meeting you. Then I asked Clare yesterday and she was more than happy" Spencer explained.

"So are you a writer?" Ashley asked trying to be polite even if it felt wrong.

"No I'm a fact checker" Spencer answered.

"Then why are you writing?"

"Because I want to be writer and this story is going to be the first story I give to the editor of the New Yorker"

"Impressive Blondie" Ashley said as she pulled over the car again. This time they were by a small harbour.

"You're up Gran" Ashley said as the car stopped completely.

"I suppose I am" Clare replied climbing out of the car, the two younger girls followed suit taking their places next to the car giving Clare some privacy.

"So what do you do Ashley?" Spencer asked hoping that Ashley's mood hadn't flipped again.

"This and that"

"Oh this and that? I love doing that" Spencer joked getting a small smile from the otherwise stoic brunette.

"I'm a singer"

"That makes sense you know with the ego and everything" Spencer teased noticing that Ashley seemed slightly less tense.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Ashley joked watching sadly as Clare headed back towards them shaking her head.

"We have loads more to check out" Ashley reassured her Grandmother helping her back into the car.

They drove around for another few hours until Clare admitted she was tired from all the travelling so they stopped at a small hotel outside one of the villages. Spencer loved the small place they had chosen and wished that she could get Aiden to travel around a little bit before they left. After booking in and getting freshened up Clare suggested they share an evening meal an idea that Ashley seemed less than enthralled with but she went with it to keep her Gran happy.

Spencer decided to call Aiden before she went down for dinner hoping she would catch him but once again the call went straight to voicemail and being fed up she decided against leaving yet another message. Checking her reflection and approving she headed down to the dining room. Spotting Ashley first she couldn't help but admire how stunning the other girl was despite her severe attitude problem. Spencer admired her smile and the way her hair seemed to actually shine in the dimly lit dining room. Spencer blocked any more nice Ashley thoughts and headed over to the table.

"You look lovely Spencer don't you agree Ashley" Clare greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. Ashley took in Spencer who was wearing a pretty little summer dress with her hair down for the first time since they had met. Ashley couldn't argue with her Gran because the girl looked perfect.

"You look wonderful Spencer" Ashley said in what seemed an honest reaction which caused Spencer to blush slightly.

"Thank you both" Spencer said shyly as she fiddled with her napkin noticing that Clare already had a plate in front of her.

"Am I late?" Spencer asked pointing to the now empty plate.

"No Gran decided to come down to dinner before while I was in the shower" Ashley explained obviously annoyed.

"I'm rather tired and I thought that you two young ones could enjoy dinner together" Clare smiled as she got out of her chair and kissed both of the girls before leaving the room.

"I can order room service if you'd rather not baby sit" Spencer offered.

"It would be a shame to waste this awesome bottle of wine plus I hate eating alone" Ashley answered really not wanting Spencer to go just yet.

"As long as you're sure"

"Positive. Wine?"

"Yes so much" Spencer laughed taking a sip of the red wine as soon as Ashley had finished pouring.

"Slow down boozy I don't want Clare thinking I got you drunk" Ashley stated taking note of the gulp of wine Spencer had just taken.

"Sorry, it's been a long day and I really needed this" Spencer said sipping her wine slightly more lady like now.

"How's the writing going?" Ashley asked after they had both ordered their meals and more wine.

"Ok I guess I'm just doing notes at the moment until I get the story"

"You do know that you probably won't get the ending that you want?" Ashley suggested not meaning to sound so cynical.

"I know but on the other hand it might be the greatest love story that the New Yorker ever publishes"

"You are so blindly naive"

"And you're so ridiculously cynical for somebody so young" Spencer argued back.

"I'm not cynical I'm realistic"

"What happened to make you this way?"

"Does something need to have happened for me to not believe that everybody will be swept off their feet at least once in their life?"

"I guess not, I just don't understand. I'm guessing that you're not always an ass and you're good looking so you must have people throwing themselves at your feet" Spencer pondered out loud immediately regretting the words as soon as she saw the smile on Ashley's face.

"You think I'm good looking?" Ashley asked with a mocking smile on her face.

"Well yes for an ass you're good looking" Spencer added making it clear that she still thought Ashley was an ass.

"If you must know I do get my fair share of offers but I'm not in the market for anything serious. I like to have a bit of fun and that's it, no feelings and no emotions" Ashley continued trying not to laugh at Spencer's red cheeks.

"Don't you get lonely?" Spencer asked pouring them some more wine.

"Out the two of us Spencer who do you honestly think is lonelier? You the girl with the pseudo fiancée or me the girl who has fun, enjoys the company of attractive women every now and again?" Ashley finished her question with a slight head tilt.

"Maybe we are both as lonely as each other or maybe we are both as satisfied as each other" Spencer responded not really wanting to answer the question Ashley had just posed knowing that the other girl had a fair point.

"Way to avoid the question Spencer. Also while we are on this fun topic I need to ask what the real reason is for you not wearing an engagement because I don't believe whatever bullshit excuse you gave the other day"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Who else are you going to tell?"

"Fine we were meeting with some of his business partners and he introduced me as his fiancée once. I asked him about it and he said that he would sort something 'official' when he had time" Spencer explained knowing that Ashley now had enough ammo to make her like a misery.

"So he hasn't even proposed to you?"

"Nope"

"And you still believe in all this true love bull shit"

"Yes" Spencer replied knowing that this would never change.

"You're fake engaged to a complete jackass and you still think that he's going to sweep you off your feet some day?" Ashley asked completely flabbergasted by the information that Spencer had just shared.

"Yes"

"I don't get it"

"And I don't get how you can go around being so reckless with your own heart as well as so many others just because you apparently don't believe in love. Sounds like the excuse of somebody who is scared of anything real"

"Think what you want Spencer, I think we just need to agree to disagree for now" Ashley finally said as the waitress cleared the table taking extra care to make sure that Ashley was happy. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Spencer who would deliberately not leave a tip.

"I'm tired, I'm going to bed" Spencer announced getting up and heading out of the restaurant leaving Ashley sat on her own. Ashley watched the annoyed blonde march across the gardens towards the rooms and decided that for the sake of her Gran she should make sure they are still on talking terms in the morning. Breaking into a slight jog she managed to catch up with Spencer.

"At least let me make sure you get back safely" Ashley said slightly out of breathe.

"Sorry I figured you wanted some alone time with our slutty waitress" Spencer sulked.

"Are you jealous that the waitress was paying me attention?" Ashley asked stopping Spencer from walking.

"No I just thought it was extremely rude of her to assume that you were interested. I mean we could've been together and she was all over you, just rude" Spencer tried her best to rationalise her reaction out loud.

"When you put it that way I suppose it was very rude of her plus she totally isn't my type"

"But she has a pulse isn't that your type?" Spencer mocked as she continued walking.

"I like girls that challenge me, she was too easy" Ashley explained getting a disgusted look off Spencer who was now stood outside her room.

"You're worse than any guy I know"

"I think I'm a little bit better than Aiden" Ashley admitted.

"How so?"

"Because Spence if I was on holiday with you I wouldn't leave your side, you would have a ring on that finger and you wouldn't be chasing somebody else's happily ever after because I couldn't give you one" Ashley said hating her own honesty sometimes.

"But you don't do relationships" Spencer challenged.

"Anymore that's not to say I didn't and I was an awesome girlfriend. Good night Spence" Ashley smiled as she headed off handing Spencer a small pink flower she picked while they were walking back to the room. Spencer took the flower and smiled as Ashley walked off to her own room. She was so confused by Ashley, one minute she was a bitch and then she could be the sweetest person ever. Closing the door Spencer found herself looking forward to the next day.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Thank you all for the reviews and adds, totally rocks my world. Yes Aiden is an ass in this but I do actually like him in the actual series. I'm so glad people are diggin this so keep the reviews up and I will update as much as I can, promise.**

Letters to Juliet Chapter 4

Spencer had woken early the next morning and felt inspired to put pen to paper so she had spent an hour alone on the patio enjoying coffee and breakfast. She was so into her writing that she hadn't noticed that she had a guest at her table.

"Written anything about me yet?" A husky voice asked as they sat next to Spencer causing the blonde to jump slightly making the cocky brunette smile.

"Nope, you're not very interesting" Spencer replied closing her book so Ashley couldn't see what she had written.

"You're mean in the morning Spencer Carlin" Ashley said as she poured some coffee.

"When did I tell you my last name?" Spencer asked looking at Ashley suspiciously.

"You didn't"

"Then how do you know it?"

"I googled you last night, I was intrigued and mostly concerned that you might some crazy killer after my Gran"

"So did I check out?"

"No record that I could find but that might mean that you're really good"

"Oh you have no idea" Spencer smiled playing along causing Ashley to blush slightly.

"So Clare has decided she needs a lie in this morning so you're free for a few more hours" Ashley said changing the subject as she calmly sipped her coffee.

"Is she ok?"

"Yes she's fine, she likes her lazy mornings"

"I might go check out the lake...you up for it?" Spencer asked surprising Ashley with confidence.

"You want me to come to the lake with you?" Ashley asked not sure where the invitation had come from.

"It's not like I'm confessing my undying love for you Ash, just thought it might be fun" Spencer explained feeling a little exposed.

"Sounds awesome, give me 10 minutes to grab my suit and I'll meet you down there?" Ashley finally answered smiling widely at Spencer.

Ashley headed towards the small beach that surrounded the fresh water lake, it was the kind of spot that Italy was famous for and it was absolutely stunning. Ashley took in the scenery that was around her when her eyes landed on Spencer. She was wearing a polka dot red bikini with her hair flowing freely in the wind. Ashley couldn't tear her eyes away as they roamed over Spencer's exposed skin and all the little things that had annoyed Ashley about Spencer when they had first meant disappeared completely. In fact any coherent thought that had once been in Ashley's head had gone completely thanks to Spencer Carlin and her red polka dot bikini. Shaking off her obvious attraction to Spencer she headed over hoping she didn't look like too much of a perv.

"Hey I thought you'd gotten lost" Spencer joked as Ashley stood next to the two towels she had laid out on the sand for them.

"Sorry I couldn't find my bikini but I found it" Ashley explained feeling quite lame all of a sudden but Spencer hadn't noticed this as she was struggling to resist staring at Ashley in the simply black bikini she was sporting. Luckily Spencer had over sized sunglasses so Ashley couldn't see her wandering blue eyes.

"Yes you did" Spencer sighed as Ashley sat down next to her.

"What was that?" Ashley asked sure that Spencer had something.

"I said that it's lovely out here" Spencer lied.

"It's stunning, I love it here"

"You spent much time in Italy before this trip?" Spencer asked trying to find out more about the girl that had been occupying her thoughts since their dinner last night.

"Actually no, I've never been Europe before now" Ashley answered rubbing some lotion into her tanned arms.

"Me neither never had a chance to leave America before"

"There's a lot to see Spencer Carlin you should be out there seeing it"

"I know but I moved to New York and just stayed there because of Aiden and his restaurant" Spencer explained. She had always wanted to travel and had even saved to for when she graduated from College but she met Aiden, they moved to New York and her savings just stayed as they were.

"Do you ever do anything for you?"

"Yes" Spencer replied in a not too convincing voice.

"Really? Name one thing"

"This story about Clare, it's totally for me and nobody else"

"But you're helping Clare, you only wrote back to her because you wanted to make her feel better" Ashley pointed out.

"I can be selfish" Spencer pouted making Ashley giggle which was something Ashley Davies didn't really do.

"Sure you can"

"I was totally going to buy you an ice cream but now I'm not going to" Spencer said pointing out the guy walking across the beach selling ice creams.

"You're a real bitch Carlin" Ashley laughed again standing up and grabbing them both an ice cream.

"I really didn't want to see your mean side" Ashley joked as she handed Spencer one of the ice creams.

"You're too kind. So Ashley do you have a selfish streak?"

"Nope I'm a total angel"

"Liar"

"Ok I do have a sort of selfish side but I'm working on that" Ashley confessed as she licked her ice cream.

"Pretty selfless being here all summer"

"Not really, I get to travel around a beautiful country with my Gran who I adore and I've met some pretty decent people" Ashley explained.

"Like me?" Spencer smiled.

"You're ok I suppose" Ashley teased causing another pout to appear on Spencer's face.

"Just ok?"Spencer asked holding her ice cream closer to Ashley's face.

"You wouldn't?" Ashley asked edging back slightly as Spencer moved closer almost moving over Ashley.

"Oh I would I'm bad ass like that" Spencer threatened edging even closer. Before Ashley could move Spencer had planted the ice cream down the side of Ashley's face.

"Oh my god you totally just did that" Ashley yelped not knowing what to as Spencer sat giggling at her own handy work. Not one to be outdone Ashley pounced at Spencer pinning her down, rubbing the ice cream all over the shocked blond girls face. Spencer tried to struggle free but Ashley was now straddling her and the feisty brunette was a lot stronger that she seems.

"I can't believe you just did that to me" Spencer yelled still trying to struggle free still.

"Revenge is a bitch" Ashley laughed now covered in ice cream.

"And so is Ashley Davies" Spencer through back.

"You totally asked for it"

"Is that how you treat all the girls?" Spencer asked wishing she hadn't as the mood suddenly changed.

"Just the ones I really don't like" Ashley replied sticking her tongue out playfully.

"Lucky me" Spencer whispered feeling herself going really red. The silence washed over them as they both noticed the closeness between them. Feeling a little worked up Ashley adjusted herself and moved off of Spencer noticing that the other girl released a huge breathe.

"So, erm, we should probably head back and get moving" Ashley muttered as she used the towel to remove the ice cream from her face. She saw Spencer was looking at her strangely and the look was Ashley get a little bit worked up.

"You have a little something" Spencer said slowly using her hand to wipe a small blob of ice cream from the corner of Ashley's lips feeling the warmth of the brunettes skin making them both shudder.

"Thank you" Ashley finally said and the words were barely audible.

"No problem...so we should leave" Spencer announced standing up and grabbing her back. Ashley followed Spencer up the stairs and they headed back to their rooms in silence.


	5. Chapter 5

a/n Sorry for the delays in updating but I've been busy and didn't want to post a half arsed attempt at the next chapter. I really love the reviews and I'm stoked that you all love this. Keep the love coming my way and I'll try to update a bit more this week.

Also due to the nature of this story it probably won't be a really long one. I'm going to pretty much stick to the film so I will be lucky to push it to 10 chapters. But don't fret every chapter will be awesome :o)

This is only a short chapter but it bridges to quite an important part

Letters to Juliet Chapter 5

They had been driving for about an hour now and the journey had been practically silent apart from Clare doing her best to break the silence. Spencer had caught Ashley's deep brown eyes looking at her via the rear view window a few times which had made her smile on the inside slightly. Spencer had felt slightly uncomfortable after the moment they had shared and she was trying her best to ignore what had almost happened. She barely knew Ashley but the arrogant girl intrigued her so much that she found it difficult to be put off by an almost kiss or whatever it was.

Ashley's eyes flickered towards Spencer again as she watched the curious blonde scribble in her note pad in the back seat. Ashley knew exactly what had happened at the lake and she had no excuse for it. She was attracted to the interfering girl and once she liked somebody there was nothing she or anybody else could do to stop her. The journey had been awkward to say the least and Ashley didn't want it to be that way, she had attempted to talk to Spencer but the conversation was cut short by Spencer's cell phone ringing. It just so happened to be Spencer's jackass boyfriend calling to tell her that he would be staying even longer then planned at the auction. This angered Ashley as she couldn't understand how anybody wouldn't want to spend time with Spencer.

"It's rude to stare dear" Clare whispered placing her hand on Ashley's shoulder. Ashley averted her eyes from the rear view window and looked at her rather amused Gran.

"Oh look we're here" Ashley announced choosing to ignore Clare who just smirked knowingly. Ashley jumped out the car first needing to escape the atmosphere in the car. Walking around to help Clare out only to bump into Spencer who had the same idea.

"Oh I'm sorry" Spencer muttered shyly turning bright red.

"It's ok I survived" Ashley joked opening the door to help Clare.

"I'm perfectly capable of getting out of a car on my own Ashley" Clare moaned knowing that Ashley wouldn't change; she was always caring and helpful.

"Just let me help you old lady" Ashley laughed sticking her tongue out getting a tap on her arm from her Gran. Walking towards the front door of their next stop Ashley decided she would stay with her Gran this time. After a short while the door opened and a young gentleman, probably late 30's opened the door with a kind smile on his face. The conversation that continued had almost broken Ashley's heart. Taking Clare back to the car, Ashley followed the directions that the kind man had given her. All 3 women descended down the dusty path and finally entered a cemetery.

Spencer felt every form of guilt that she could ever feel at once. It was her fault that this kind, generous woman was now searching for the grave of her first love. After talking to the gentleman he had informed them in broken English that Lorenzo was his grand Father who had died 7 years ago after suffering a heart attack. Clare was convinced that this was the right Lorenzo as there was only one place left on the map that they had needed to visit. Spencer and Ashley stood back as Clare made her way to the tombstone.

"This is exactly what I was afraid of" Ashley said sounding quite annoyed.

"I'm sorry" Spencer whispered trying to fight the guilt she felt hoping that Ashley wouldn't hold this against her.

"You should be Spencer, this is exactly why I didn't want her doing this. She has experienced enough loss in her life and now this. You get to go off with your Fiancee and forget about all of this while I clean up the mess" Ashley snapped shocking Spencer with her acid tongue.

"I understand why you're mad but I didn't know that this would happen" Spencer argued

"How do you understand? You have no idea what she has been through. I wish you had never have sent that stupid letter" Ashley yelled.

"God Ashley I thought you were a jerk when I first met you, I was right but I never thought you would be so mean" Spencer stated feeling herself become quite emotional at Ashley's words. Spencer did understand loss only too well but she knew that Ashley didn't know that so she didn't want to get mad at her. Feeling her eyes fill Spencer ran out of the cemetery leaving Ashley with Clare.

Ashley watched as Spencer ran away knowing that she was out of line but not really carrying because her main priority was her grandmother. Her main priority had been her grandmother for many years and this was never going to change for Ashley no matter what and no matter who came into her life.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry about the mess ups with my posting on the last chapter. Had a dumb moment but we got there in there end x

Letters to Juliet Chapter 6

Ashley stood and watched as Spencer left the cemetery feeling bad for snapping at the girl but she was still fuming about what had led to the situation. Spotting Clare walking back towards her Ashley knew that she would have to explain what just happened and she knew her Gran wouldn't be happy.

"Where's Spencer?" Clare asked on queue.

"Erm...she left" Ashley replied avoiding eye contact with Clare.

"Is she ok?"

"Probably not" Ashley admitted knowing that she would have to explain at some point any way.

"What did you do?"

"Why do you assume that I did something wrong?"

"Because you have your Mother's acid tongue and your Fathers self righteous attitude" Clare argued.

"Fine I'm pissed at her for writing that stupid letter and for causing this upset for you when there was no need. I knew something like this would happen Gran and she doesn't get it, this is just about her stupid article" Ashley confessed in one quick breathe anticipating Clare's reaction.

"It's not Spencer's fault Ashley and you know that, you're not a stupid girl and I know you're not stupid enough to make assumptions about someone. Spencer has experienced great loss in her life, just like you. I suggest you find that girl and apologise" Clare responded clearly annoyed with her granddaughter's stubbornness and bad attitude.

"Ugh fine, I'm doing it for you though" Ashley sulked kissing her Gran sweetly on the cheek before heading off. Clare took a seat on a nearby bench and took in the scenery.

Ashley spotted Spencer sat on the front of the car writing in her book. Ashley admired the girl's simple beauty as the afternoon sun shone down through the trees creating a slight glow around the young writer. Slowly taking a seat next to Spencer both girls sat in silence for a short while both clearly trying to think of the right thing to say.

"So I'm a giant ass sometimes and I always say the wrong thing especially when I think I'm doing the right thing. I no it's no excuse but it's just how I am, I didn't mean to upset you...I'm sorry Spence" Ashley ranted as she stared at her own feet feeling nervous.

Spencer listened to the words that Ashley had said and she knew that this was an apology. Ashley's words had hurt but it was the memories that caused the tears.

"You are an ass sometimes Ashley and even though your little outburst hurt my feelings it wasn't you that made me cry so you can continue your existence with a guilt free conscience" Spencer replied putting on her best fake smile something she had mastered during the last few months of her relationship.

"Then why did you cry?" Ashley asked feeling even more guilty than she had done before.

"Seriously Ashley you can drop the concerned act, I'll tell Clare you apologised and we're the best of friends" Spencer snapped.

"Spencer this isn't an act I swear to you, I want to know" Ashley promised making the upset blonde look her in the car for the first time since sitting next to her.

"I'll make you a deal I'll tell you what upset me if you tell me what really upset you back there" Spencer bargained.

"Fine" Ashley smiled.

"It was back in high school at my senior prom, we were all just leaving to go to the hotel for the after party. I was having a stupid argument with my stupid boyfriend and then I just heard these huge bangs, there were 4 bangs. The next thing I knew I was on the floor and all I could hear was screaming and shouting. As I looked across from me I spotted my Brother Clay, he was lying next to me but his eyes were completely blank. ...turns out he had jumped in front of me when these idiot guys from a rival school had done a drive by. He was my favourite person and he died saving me so when you bitch me out by saying I don't understand what loss is you couldn't be more wrong Ashley" Spencer explained her past to somebody she barely knew and it took everything in her not to cry again. Aiden had only spoken to Spencer about Clay once and had neglected to bring him up again.

"Were you close?"

"He was my favourite person in the whole world, he was adopted but that didn't matter to us, we were so close and then he was gone. I play that night over in my head all the time and I just wish that I could've done something" Spencer continued looking into the distance.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that Spencer and I don't anything more than you've told me but I know that your Brother did what he did because he loved you and I'm sure that wherever he is now he doesn't regret that decision to save you. There's not people who can honestly say that somebody loves them or has loved them enough to jump in front of a bullet for them" Ashley tried her best to reassure Spencer and words seemed to have some sort of effect on her because before Ashley could protest Spencer was leaning her head on Ashley's bare shoulder.

"Thank you Ashley" Spencer said in a whispered sending shivers down Ashley's spine as the words played against her ear.

"Not bad for an ass right?" Ashley joked getting a giggle from Spencer.

"It won't last long I'm sure" Spencer teased straightening herself out as she jumped off the car shortly followed by Ashley.

"Looks like we're on the move" Spencer stated spotting Clare making her way towards the car.

"One more left and then it's over" Ashley stated with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Girls I've decided that I would like to head back to Verona tomorrow" Clare announced as she approached the two girls.

"But we have one more left Clare" Spencer protested.

"I know sweetheart but we've already travelled so far and I've gained so much from this"

"She's right Spencer, the real Lorenzo could well be in that cemetery or may not even live in Italy anymore" Ashley interrupted.

"You would say that you've been against this the whole time" Spencer snapped frustrated for a number of reasons.

"Don't worry I'm sure you can fill in the blanks with your imagination" Ashley argued you back annoyed that Spencer would snap so easily.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're not here 'cause you're some romantic who wants to believe in love lasting forever. You're here for the story. Here to see how it all ends. Doesn't matter to you if it's a happy ending or a sad ending as long as it's compelling right? As long as there's drama" Ashley spat out shocking both Spencer and Clare with her vicious words.

"Do you think that's true?" Spencer replied forgetting Clare was even there for a moment.

"I'm just looking out for my Gran" Ashley answered back.

"Fine" Spencer finally replied after a short standoff with Ashley who almost looked disappointed that Spencer didn't continue the argument.

Later that evening...

Once they arrived at the hotel after a rather tense drive Spencer made her excuses and headed straight off to her room wanting to avoid Ashley as much as possible. After a few hours Spencer decided that it would be safe to venture down to the restaurant without bumping into Ashley. Grabbing her key and phone she headed off to order some food so she could get back to bed and forget the day ever happened.

She managed to order to some food and while walking across the court yard her phone started ringing. Shocked to see Aiden's name pop up on the caller id Spencer answered.

"Hello"

"Baby this place is amazing" Aiden gushed into the phone without even saying hello.

"Awesome, I'm having fun too..." Spencer started but was soon interrupted.

"Yea, yea I'm sure baby. Look I'm going to head back to Verona tomorrow to work on some things and then I'm thinking of heading over to Paris to see a cheese dealer. I've always wanted to go to France and figured it would be good for me to go" Aiden continued to ramble on about France but Spencer had finished listening, she was fed up with Aiden's selfishness and his lack of consideration for her thoughts. Without thinking about any of the consequences and dropped her phone into the fountain that she was sat on. She felt relieved and empowered that she had managed to put a stop to Aiden's selfish ways even if it was temporary. Caught up in her thoughts Spencer had neglected to notice that she had company by the fountain.

"Normally people throw coins in there not cell phones" A familiar raspy voice mocked from just behind her startling Spencer slightly.

"You're lucky I didn't throw at you creeping up on me like that" Spencer joked turning around to face Ashley.

"I'm lucky you haven't kicked my ass like 5 times already on this trip" Ashley admitted with a shy smile.

"Yes you are" Spencer agreed sternly remembering she was mad at Ashley for her unfair assumptions.

"Spencer you know I'm an ass and I'm sure you're fed up with me apologising but I am sorry for what I said earlier"

"You're right though I'm not here because of some crazy romanticism or strong belief in soul mates or true love"

"So what about all that romantic true love crap you peddled about Gran and Lorenzo then?" Ashley asked taking a seat next to Spencer.

"I want them to prove me wrong. That's all. I want to believe two people can reconnect and it can all be OK. I'm clinging to the wreckage of "there's always hope." Spencer confessed.

"Well there is always hope Spence because while you were off sulking in your hotel room we may have found the real Lorenzo" Ashley explained hoping this news would lighten the mood.

"What? Really? How?" Spencer questioned with an over excited expression now plastered across her face.

"The wine at dinner was from a local vineyard which is possibly owned by our Lorenzo. So if you're up for it Gran and I will be heading over there tomorrow?" Ashley answered getting an excited hug from Spencer who suddenly became aware of her actions wanting to jump back but the warmth of Ashley's body made her feel relaxed.

"So you're in then?" Ashley whispered as she continued to hold Spencer. Both girls were now inches apart and neither of them were moving any time soon.

"Definitely" Spencer smiled taking the first real chance to really look into Ashley's eyes. In that instant she could feel her heart beat changing and becoming more rapid. Ashley's deep chocolate eyes had a sparkle that she had never seen before and it was amazing.

Ashley had been in this situation with plenty of girls before but she had never been this nervous. Spencer was having a strange effect on her and no matter how much she tried to fight it wasn't going away. She returned the look in Spencer's eyes and instinctively licked her lips preparing herself for the best possible outcome. Deciding to make a move she slowly raised her hand to softly push back a strand of golden blonde hair. She could feel Spencer's breathe hitch slightly and this made Ashley even more nervous. Fighting her nerves Ashley leaned forward placing her lips against Spencer's not wanting to be too forceful knowing that this was a brand new experience to Spencer.

Feeling Ashley's lips on hers surprised Spencer but in the best way possible. Spencer followed Ashley's lead and the kiss continued to be slow and gentle unlike Spencer's heartbeat. Suddenly Spencer's brain decided to work and thoughts of Aiden came screaming through her brain causing to pull away and jump back shocking Ashley.

"Spence are you ok?" Ashley asked placing her hand on Spencer's arm.

"No...that was bad...but good...oh God. I need to go...sorry" Spencer stuttered as she started pacing across the court yard ignoring Ashley's yells.


	7. Chapter 7

I'm a bad person for neglecting this and I'm sorry but I keep getting busy, having a life sucks. Anyway I'm on it now and will put up an update today. This isn't a very Splashley chapter but keep with me on this please because it will be worth it.

Anyway the reviews are getting few and far between, I'm not even at 10 per chapter so this means that my story must suck or people at least don't think it's worth reviewing. So I'm asking, nah begging for a few more reviews if you don't hate this. My ego has deflated majorly :o(

Letters to Juliet Chapter 7

Ashley woke up the next morning wondering if Spencer would still be acting weird or if she had imagined the whole thing. She knew she was grasping at straws but it was very rare that a girl ran away from Ashley Davies especially after she had kissed them. Somehow Spencer Carlin had managed to dent her Davies ego and it left the normally confident girl quite confused. Also Ashley was concerned by the huge smile that had graced Clare's face she had returned from talking to Spencer last night. Clare almost seemed in the know which creeped Ashley out a little bit.

Leaving the bell boy to grab the bags Ashley headed down to the reception after knocking on Spencer's hotel room door getting no answer.

"Excuse me has Miss Carlin checked out yet?" Ashley asked worried that the girl had ran.

"No Miss Davies" The gentleman replied kindly.

"Oh...have you seen her at all?" Ashley continued feeling even worse now.

"No Mam"

"Thank you" Ashley replied disheartened as she walked back over to Clare wondering how she was going to explain this to her Gran.

"Is she here dear?"

"I don't know Gran...god I am so sorry this is all my fault.." Ashley admitted.

"What's your fault?" A familiar voice asked from behind Ashley making Clare smile and Ashley release the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Nothing...Good Morning" Ashley answered dumbfounded.

"Good Morning" Spencer smiled a little overly happy for Ashley.

"Everything ok?" Ashley pried confused by the blonde's sunny disposition.

"Yes I'm perfect. So Clare are you excited? I am" Spencer turned her attentions to Clare leaving Ashley stood gobsmacked.

"Nervous and excited... I feel like a teenager again" Clare replied eyeing her granddaughters confused expression.

"Yep we all feel like teenagers let's get this over with" Ashley muttered annoyed by Spencer's happy smile face. Not that she didn't enjoy Spencer smiling but the last time had seen her was a huge deal and Spencer was acting like nothing had happened. Ashley had kissed plenty of straight girls before and most of them were weird after but they didn't turn into Mary Poppins over night. Getting into the car Ashley tried to catch Spencer's eye but the blonde was very good at avoiding eye contact. Sighing Ashley started the engine and headed to their final destination with her mind racing as she tried to make sense of everything that had happened over the last few days. The last thing she expecting on this break with her Gran was to become infatuated with a straight girl.

The journey was silent apart from Clare telling Spencer a few stories about her time with Lorenzo during her summer in Verona. Spencer was mesmerised by the tales and welcomed the distraction from her over active mind. After running away from Ashley last night Spencer had spent the evening trying to rationalise her actions. She had never kissed a girl before in fact she had never thought about kissing a girl before except maybe P!nk and Megan Fox but they were isolated incidents. She had come to the conclusion that she was just caught up in the moment and was missing Aiden so her game plan was denial. She was great at denial and had become a master at ignoring issues that needed to be dealt with as it gave her a quiet life. She had caught a glimpse of Ashley's confused eyes in the rear view mirror a few times during the journey and even in her state of denial she couldn't help but let her heart skip a beat when she looked at the whiskey coloured eyes that had looked so hurt this morning.

Tearing her eyes away from the Ashley's dark pools of chocolate temptation Spencer took in the scenery that was flying past her window. As the car turned down a dusty road Spencer noticed they were now entering the grounds of a vineyard which meant they were close.

"Stop" Clare yelped as she spotted a young man in amongst the grapes. Ashley did as instructed and they all climbed out of the car but only Clare knew why. Following the older ladies gaze Ashley and Spencer's eyes both landed on a young boy, about 16 with his shirt off. He had dark hair, baked skin and a ripped body.

"That's him" Clare whispered shocking Ashley slightly.

"That can't be him Gran" Ashley answered even more confused.

"If that is him I'll be writing a completely different article" Spencer commented getting a slight smile from Ashley. Both girls were caught up in their little world and hadn't noticed Clare had approached the young boy.

"Are you Lorenzo?" Clare asked almost breathless as she took in the young man's features.

"Yes Ma'am" The boy replied in quite good English.

At that moment an older looking version of the boy appeared from nowhere looking just as beautiful but more refined startling Clare slightly. Ashley was by her side in a second concerned that this was all getting slightly weird.

"Are you Lorenzo too?" Clare asked the older gentleman who smiled sweetly at the confused older lady.

"Yes Ma'am, this is my Son" Older Lorenzo replied pointing at his son who was now carrying on with his work. As the older Lorenzo was about to talk the sound of horses hooves came booming through the warm, sticky summer air causing everybody to look in a new direction. As the white horse came closer Clare's face lit up in a way that Ashley hadn't seen since her grandfather was alive, taking in the appearance of the gentleman on the horse Ashley knew who it was.

"Clare" The older gentleman shouted with a huge smile flashing his pearly white teeth. Climbing down from his steed he approached Clare, taking in her older features. Clare looks back in return knowing without a doubt that this was her Lorenzo, she could see it in his eyes.

"Clare?" Lorenzo asked again only getting a nodded head a glistening tear from Clare in response. They stand opposite each other for a while, taking in each other's features admiring the subtle changes in their appearances and then after a long pause Clare decides it's time to talk.

"Sorry I'm late" Clare whispers as Lorenzo embraces her without hesitation.

Ashley and Spencer watch on clearly emotional by the exchange. Spencer looks down as she feels somebody take her hand and then looks across to see a smiling Ashley who has a tear in her eye. Ashley looks like she's about say something but Spencer stops her.

"You're welcome" Spencer smiles.


	8. Chapter 8

Letters to Juliet

Chapter 8

Lorenzo had invited the 3 of them to join his family for dinner which they had all accepted happily. Spencer watched as Clare interacted with Lorenzo's vast family. She had spent some time playing with his great grandchildren but they had tired her out. As Spencer watched Clare and Lorenzo catch up on 50 years of being apart Spencer noticed that Ashley had been missing for a while. Even though she didn't want to deal with what had happened the night before she wanted to make sure that Ashley was ok because no matter how the girl argued she was fine Spencer knew that this adventure had affected her more than she would care to admit. Excusing herself from the table Spencer headed towards the gardens spotting Ashley sat on the ground starring at the beautiful surroundings clearly in her own little world.

"He's a widower, just lost his wife 2 years ago. And now Clare is here with him. How does that happen?" Spencer said as she took a seat next to Ashley.

"You made it happen?" Ashley replies simply smiling at Spencer and then turning her attention back to the horizon.

"Happy or sad? I can't tell?" Spencer notes as she takes in Ashley's perfect features. There was really no point in trying to deny just how attractive Ashley was. Her skin was a caramel tone and it seemed to actually shine which made it look so kissable Spencer thought.

"Bit of both, happy for them but sad it's over" Ashley answered not taking her eyes off the distance.

"Mission accomplished though" Spencer suggested trying to keep the mood light but Ashley was clearly not in the mood to play games.

"I guess so" Ashley sighed getting annoyed that Spencer was able to carry on like nothing happened or was happening between them.

"Oh come on Ash you have to admit it was fun?" Spencer asked knocking Ashley with her shoulder making the other girl look at her. Ashley turned and looked at Spencer amazed by her ocean blue eyes and her elegance. She wasn't like the other girls' that Ashley normally showed an interest in, she was perfect in every way.

"It was" Ashley replied tearing her eyes off Spencer again knowing if she looked at her for too long she would kiss her again. Her resolve was becoming weaker and weaker the longer she spent with Spencer.

"Look about last night Spencer..." Ashley started letting her emotions get the better of her but her words were interrupted by a fake Spencer smile.

"Don't worry about it" Spencer smiled sweetly.

"Really?" Ashley asked confused.

"Mistakes happen" Spencer threw back standing up shortly followed by Ashley.

"You're right Spencer, mistakes happen"

They both stand to leave but neither actually moves so they stand silently for a minute both trying to think of the words that they should say rather than the words they want to say.

"I'm assuming you were going to apologise for last night" Spencer added mentally kicking herself as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Yea I was totally trying to apologise...about last night. Silly mistake and it will never happen again" Ashley lied.

"Good"

"Awesome"

"A bottle of nice wine, share a few childhood stories and I let myself get of hand" Spencer attempted some light humour but her words just seemed to hurt Ashley even more.

"I guess you'll do anything for a story" Ashley snapped going to walk off but spotting her grandmother walking towards them clearly upset.

"Clare are you ok?" Spencer asked shaking off Ashley's comment.

"I shouldn't have come here, this is a mistake" Clare answered.

"Oh look another one of those little mistakes" Ashley snapped.

"What happened Clare?"

"It's been 50 years, a lot has happened. I'm behaving like a school girl. You were right Ashley this was selfish and impulsive and I'm sorry"

Just as Ashley tries to find the right words in her head Lorenzo appears looking frantic but his face relaxes when he sees Clare.

"Clare?"

"I'm sorry Lorenzo but I must go, I shouldn't be here" Clare answers as she goes to leave. Spencer gives Ashley a look begging her to do something.

"Gran you can't just leave. You can't just turn up out of the blue, find your first love and then just leave" Ashley offered hoping her words would help but not feeling inspired considering the conversation she had just had with Spencer. Clare mulls over Ashley's words and then turns to look Lorenzo.

"It was foolish to come here and think we could pick up where we left off all those years ago"

"Clare, my angel, slow down. It won't happen in a day. Nothing worth doing is done in a day" Lorenzo reasoned.

"We'll talk, we'll be friends, we'll have dinner...take slow...write letters. You can tell me about your Jack and I'll tell you about my Maria. I'll even tell you about my bladder operations" Lorenzo continued smiling his perfect smile. Clare smiles and accepts his comforting words.

"I have varicose veins" Clare confessed smiling.

"So do I and terrible hearing" Lorenzo adds laughing.

"My eyes are going"

"We are old like Da Vinci's last supper, falling apart. But what a masterpiece no?" Lorenzo asked holding Clare's hand.

"What are you afraid of Clare?"

"I'm afraid to be happy again" Clare admitted.

"There are so many worse things to be afraid of at our age dear"

Lorenzo's words are enough to calm Clare's nerves and she hugs the man she had been searching for. Lorenzo's sighs with relief hugging Clare tightly and stroking her hair affectionately. He signals for Ashley to come join them. Ashley nods that she will follow and looks at Spencer.

"You coming?"

"No I should go back to the hotel"

"You sure?"

"Yep, gotta get on with that story. I mean that's all I'm here for right?" Spencer asked clearly pissed off. Not waiting for Ashley to answer Spencer heads back to her hotel room.

Later in the afternoon Spencer is lying on her bed with her laptop in front of her trying to get some sort of structure to her story when her cell rings. Seeing Aiden's name on the ID Spencer swallows hard and plasters on her fake smile.

"Hey Baby how's it going?"

"Yea good, can you come get me?"

"Where are you?"

"I'll be at the airport in an hour"

"What about Paris?"

"I need to get back to New York, I'm afraid the trip will be cut short baby"

"Oh, that's ok I'm over this place now. I'll see you in a while" Spencer put her phone down and arranged a rental car with the hotel reception and as soon as it was ready she headed off to pick up Aiden.

Ashley and Clare entered the hotel reception so they could check out as Lorenzo had arranged for them to stay at the Vine yard for the rest of their trip. He had also invited Spencer so Ashley was hoping to catch her so they could tell her about the change in sleeping arrangements.

"Can I use the phone to call a guest of the hotel?" Ashley asked smiling sweetly at the receptionist.

"Of course which room?"

"Spencer Carlin's room"

"Miss Carlin just checked out"

"Do you know where she went?" Ashley asked clearly upset by the news.

"The airport"

"Oh did she leave any messages?" Ashley asked out of desperation.

"No Ma'am" The reception answered robotically. Ashley paced around the reception area feeling a bit lost.

"I can't believe she just left" Ashley stated to nobody in particular.

"It's simple, she's frightened, go after her Ashley" Clare instructed shocking Ashley into almost silence.

"What are you talking about crazy?"

"Ashley I'm not stupid, I've watched you two get closer during this little adventure of ours and you like each other"

"No offence Gran but you have no idea what you're talking about. Spencer is straight, she likes boys and I'm a girl thus meaning never gonna happen" Ashley snapped dropping on to a chair.

"Oh Ashley, when it comes to love it doesn't matter if you're a man, woman or a goddamn goat. Sometimes love is stronger than your sexual orientation plus I saw the way she looked at you and I saw that kiss"

"Have you been watching us?"

"A blind person could see what was happening between you two. Just don't make the same mistake I did Ashley" Clare continued softly stroking Ashley's face. Ashley thinks over her Gran's words and even though she had never been in this sort of situation before she knew they was some truth in her words. Spencer had kissed her back and she never once said she didn't enjoy it plus if it all goes wrong they would never see each other again. Kissing her Gran softly on the forehead Ashley grabbed her car keys and raced to her car.


	9. Chapter 9

So this is my 3rd chapter today and I show no signs of stopping anytime soon. I'm literally writing a chapter and then posting.

For those of you that have already reviewed namely iamferrari, RianiKaiba and ashikinz thank you so much for liking this and staying with me.

From here on out I will be straying slightly away from the film just to make it slightly more south of nowhere like. I will be heading back to the original plot later on so don't watch the film otherwise it will ruin my ending.

Keep reading and reviewing you beautiful people.

Letters to Juliet

Chapter 9

Spencer had picked Aiden up at the airport and they had just returned to their apartment in Verona. Spencer had wanted to say goodbye to Clare and Ashley but her confusion and fear got the better of her so she decided she would send Clare another letter explaining her actions.

Aiden had been babbling on about his trip and had not once asked Spencer about hers. So instead of listening she had drifted off wandering if Ashley was wondering where she had gone or if she even cared but her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed that Aiden was on his knees in front of her.

"What are you doing Aid?" Spencer asked feeling uncomfortable and slightly claustrophobic all of a sudden.

"I've missed you Spencer while I've been gone and I know I've asked you this before but I'm going to ask you again. Spencer Carlin will you marry me?" Aiden looked so sincere and Spencer knew that he loved her and that she had loved him at some point. Before she could answer the ring was slipped on to her finger and Aiden's expression had gone from hopeful to belated because for some reason she was smiling like a crazy person. She had unintentionally agreed for a second time to marry a man that had made her so happy at one point. She kept her smile on her face as she kissed Aiden noting how his lips felt so different to Ashley's.

Still without her saying a word Aiden was running around grabbing champagne and glasses. Dragging Spencer on to the balcony in excitement Aiden started shouting that he was going to marry her and that she had yes. Spencer knew that both of those things were untrue especially when she noticed a familiar face looking up at the balcony.

The brown eyes that she knew too well looked heart broken. Spencer didn't know what was happening but for some reason the first ever girl she had kissed was stood beneath her balcony watching her numbly celebrate her engagement to a man she didn't really love any longer. Spencer just stood there and looked back as the hurt crept from Ashley's eyes to her whole face and for some reason she couldn't move, she couldn't make this right.

Ashley had heard the noise coming from the balcony and had looked up smiling genuinely happy for the excited idiot that was yelling about proposing to the girl of his dreams. What she didn't expect was that the girl would also be the girl of her dreams. For some stupid reason she continued to stare blankly at Spencer who stood motionless as Aiden talked loudly into his phone. Finally feeling she had punished herself enough Ashley turned and headed back top her car hating the fact that she had been sucked into this romance crap and vowing that she would continue her life as she was doing before she met stupid Spencer Carlin and her stupid blue eyes.

Spencer stood and watched as Ashley left praying for the strength to go after her but falling at the last hurdle knowing that this is where she should be. A tear managed to fall down her cheek and it was easily mistaken for a tear of happiness by Aiden who was telling the world about what had just happened. All Spencer wanted to do was cry and feel sorry for herself because she had missed out on something that could've been great.

A few months later…..

Spencer had been waiting outside of her bosses room for about 20 minutes and she felt sick with nerves. It had taken her 3 months to build up the courage to show Don her story. Going through all the details of her adventure was painful and self indulgent most of the time. She knew that the story was perfect and that Clare had loved the original draft that she had sent her to Verona.

"Get in here Carlin" Don yelled making Spencer jump slightly.

"So?"

"So it's good Carlin….the readers will love it"

"So does that mean I'm officially a writer?" Spencer asked almost exploding with excitement.

"Yea it does….don't cry or anything though" Don replied in his tough guy New Yorker accent making Spencer smile even more.

Spencer practically ran to the restaurant to tell Aiden the good news. Everything was up and running now and it was going well. The critics and public loved Aiden's baby and he was lapping up the attention as he always did.

Bursting through the door Spencer smiled sweetly at Jenna who was the hostess and generally a bitch. Heading to the kitchen Spencer found Aiden by the fridge barking orders at everybody else which seemed to be a talent of his.

"Hey Bella" Aiden smiled kissing Spencer softly and closing the door.

"Hey guess what?" Spencer said excitedly.

"Baby I have no time for guessing so just tell me" Aiden replied clearly over tired.

"Oookkk….Don is going to run my story" Spencer squealed to blank faced Aiden.

"What story?"

"The one I wrote in Verona, the one I've spent the last 3 months working on day after day" Spencer explained.

"Oh the one about the old people"

"No the one about long lasting love and romance and hope" Spencer snapped recoiling from the embrace they were still in.

"That's what I meant Spencer. So anyway Jenna came up with this great idea for front of house…." Aiden continued on about something awesome that Jenna had done but Spencer zoned out which was something she had been doing a lot recently.

"I'm going to my parents for a week Aiden" Spencer just announced from nowhere shocking herself and Aiden into silence.

"Why?"

"Because I need some time to think, you're never home any way so it's not like you'll miss me" Spencer continued trying to keep on track.

"You knew that I would be busy with this place Spencer it's not like it's a surprise" Aiden replied clearly annoyed.

"Yea well I guess I thought that you might make the effort for me"

"I do make then effort I proposed, I asked you to be the hostess"

"Aiden I'm a writer not a frickin waitress!" Spencer yelled angry at his dismissive attitude towards her dreams.

"Sorry, look don't go Spencer we can work this out" Aiden begged looking more upset than Spencer had anticipated.

"Just give me some time Aiden" Spencer whispered and kissed him good bye. Spencer knew deep down that time wouldn't help but she needed to at least put up the front that she was trying.

Ashley took off through the airport running as fast as her tired legs would let her which wasn't very fast at all. She managed to make it the arrivals lounge in perfect timing. Stopping by a pillar she composed herself and tried to look casual. Spotting the dark haired girl Ashley smiled to herself remembering how much she had missed this girl. As their eyes made contact both girls crinkled their similar noses and hugged for a long time.

"I've missed you" Ashley whispered into the girls hair finally pulling away.

"Ha I knew you loved me really" The shorted girl mocked handing Ashley her bag.

"Gran will be so happy to see you Kyla" Ashley said as they walked out of the airport.

"God I've missed her so much, I can't believe that you two have been practically living here for like 3 months" Kyla continued following Ashley to her car that was parked illegally by the main entrance.

"Yea it's insane but it's great here just wait until you meet Lorenzo"

"You were so late" Kyla pointed out looking at the badly parked card.

"Not on purpose but I met this girl last night at the beach and well stuff happened"

"Lalalalala I don't want to here about my cousin's sordid sex life" Kyla sang climbing into the jeep.

"It's not sordid just really dirty" Ashley joked getting a small punch in the arm from Kyla.

"Whatever it's all crap anyway. Gran told me all about that chick that wrote her the letter so don't give me all this Ashley the player bullshit"

"What did she tell you exactly?"

"That this girl totally stole your heart and broke it into a bazillion pieces when she just left"

"Nobody stole or broke my heart Kyla so there's no story just the ramblings of some crazy old lady"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night Ash"

"Women and lots of them" Ashley smiled as she put on her sunglasses. Kyla and Ashley were the same age and were pretty much raised by Clare and Jack. Kyla's parents were very much alive but very much absent most of the time. Kyla had been at Harvard all year and was now on summer break so Ashley had convinced her to spend the summer with them on the vineyard. They were basically sisters and knew each other inside out which is why Kyla knew Ashley was still hurting over this chick with a guys name which was the main reason for Kyla been there this summer. She wanted to be there for her cousin for as long as Ashley would let her.

As Spencer stepped into the arrivals lounge she couldn't help but smile as she spotted her best friend holding up a giant sign that read 'heartbreaker Carlin'. Spencer ran up to the short dark haired girl and grabbed the sign dropping it to the ground so she could hug the girl that she hadn't seen for about a year.

"I've missed ya Carm" Spencer said hugging her friend who looked embarrassed by Spencer's over dramatic embrace.

"Dude I'm not dying put me down" Carmen begged as Spencer picked her up.

"I'll take that as 'I missed you too best friend" Spencer joked in mock annoyance.

"You know I did Spencer but I'm not going to get all emotional about it"

"You're so damaged"

"Says the girl who's just ran away from her Fiancée"

"Ouch, don't pull any punches Carmen"

"Sorry dude but colour me confused"

"What's there to be confused about? I just needed some time away from New York"

"And Aiden?"

"And Aiden" Spencer agreed.

"I understand that but why? From what I've heard you went on this awesome trip to Italy, he actually got you a ring and now you have a huge successful restaurant….not getting where the I need to leave comes into it" Carmen explained as they drove out of the car park.

"We are going to need a bar and booze for me to tell you all of this Carmen"

"Awesome" Carmen smiled.


	10. Chapter 10

Ok I am sooooooooo sorry about the delay on updating this but I just lost the inspiration to write for a while but I think I have it back now, hopefully. I'm sure you'll all tell me if it sucks. Anyway if anybody actually reads this thank you and I hope you all have a wonderful New Year xxx

Letters to Juliet Chapter 10

Spencer and Carmen headed straight to their favourite bar and ordered a bottle of wine and 4 shots of tequila which were requested by Spencer to settle her nerves. She had decided during the flight back home that she was going to tell Carmen everything about Verona including Ashley. She knew Carmen would be understanding and would shed a new light on the difficult situation.

"You kissed a fucking girl?" Carmen gasped as Spencer finished explaining almost choking on her wine.

"Yes" Spencer replied simply downing a shot.

"Then you agreed to marry Aiden?"

"Yes" Spencer grabbed her second shot.

"Then you ran away from Aiden to come here?" Carmen asked still trying to get the story straight in her head.

"Yes" Spencer winced downing another shot.

"Do you love this Ashley chick?"

"Yes" Spencer answered honestly as she downed her final shot still feeling shaky she signalled for the barman to bring more shots.

"Well I'm not gonna lie Carlin I'm shocked to my core. You're the straightest girl I know plus I always thought if you were going to experiment it would be with me" Carmen smiled.

"Euw you're like my sister plus you're too busy fucking every girl in LA anyway to fit me into your bust schedule" Spencer threw back feeling slightly calmer.

"Harsh but true. Look Spence I hate to ruin your buzz but what the hell are you doing? You can't agree to marry Aiden just after you kissed some chick…I mean the guys a douche but even by my standards that's harsh"

"I know and I hate myself for doing it but I didn't even say yes!He just assumed and I felt so guilty for kissing Ashley that I just went with it" Spencer explained grabbing the shots from the barman. Spencer couldn't believe that her best friend was actually laughing at her.

"I'm sorry Carlin but only you could get engaged because you're too polite! I've always told you that you're too soft" Carmen giggled.

"What do I do Carm?" Spencer asked putting on her serious face.

"Depends on a number of things really dude"

"Please share"

"First of all you need to really consider whether you actually have any feelings for this girl or whether you were just caught up in the romance of your little trip. Secondly you need to decide how you feel about Aiden, the boys a douche but you must have some sort feelings for him. Finally, I need to see just how hot this girl is because if you're not interested you can hook us up" Carmen got a death glare for her last comment. Spencer grabbed her phone and scrolled through the photos stopping at the one picture she had of Ashley. Ashley was stood sulking during the start of their adventure and it had made Spencer laugh so much she had to take a photo which she then teased Ashley with during one of the many long drives they endured. Passing the phone to Carmen Spencer couldn't stop smiling as she remembered those chocolate eyes and kind smile.

"Ok…..I get why…she's hot" Carmen gave her approval refusing to give the phone back to Spencer.

"She's funny, witty, mean at times but when she smiles…..she's just incredible but I just left without a goodbye or explanation"

"Has she tried to contact you?"

"I'm not sure I have a letter in my bag which was sent from Verona and haven't opened it yet" Spencer confessed.

"God you're embarrassing, pass me the letter" Carmen instructed and Spencer obliged. Carmen tore open the pink envelope and unfolded the paper inside. Spencer sat nervously as her best friends eyes scanned over the letter.

"So?"

"So the old lady is marrying the old dude and she wants to go by the looks of it and she sent you some sort of love letter" Carmen said slightly confused as she passed the second piece of paper to Spencer. Spencer opened the letter and read it recognising it immediately.

"What is it?" Carmen asked.

"It's the letter I sent to Clare it reply to her letter to Juliet" Spencer sighed knowing exactly why Clare had sent this to her.

"Well this has a plus one and I've never been to Italy" Carmen hinted with a broad smile.

"We are not going to Verona Carm" Spencer said folding up the letter and putting in her bag.

"Oh for god sake Spencer! You clearly like, fuck it you love this girl and her grandmother is blatantly telling you it's not over yet. I'm emotionally retarded and even I can see that"

"I'm still engaged to Aiden"

"Hardly just call him and tell him it's over. You'll probably just get his voicemail anyway"

"No Carmen"

"Spencer be selfish just for once, you only agreed to marry the guy because you felt too bad to say no"

"I'll think about it" Spencer smiled knowing deep down that she would go because she needed to know. She needed to know if her feelings for Ashley were really or whether they were just caught up in the adventure.

"Ok" Spencer finally said causing Carmen to actually squeal which Spencer had never heard her do before.

Ashley was sat outside on her new favourite bench which overlooked the whole vineyard. Over the past 3 months she had grown to love the place and her new found family members. Admiring the scenery she sat and idly strummed the chords on her new guitar that she had treated herself to. Kyla had been staying for the past few days and was helping Clare with the wedding plans something that Ashley had passed on having no idea how to plan a wedding. She was happy to see her cousin again but unfortunately for Ashley her gran had filled Kyla in on everything that had happened with Spencer and Kyla wouldn't drop it which annoyed Ashley more than anything. All she wanted to do was forget that Spencer Carlin ever existed but it was becoming impossible because every stupid little thing reminded Ashley of Spencer. Ashley was trying desperately to hate Spencer for leaving without saying goodbye but deep down her rational side knew exactly why she left and why she didn't say good bye. So no matter how much Ashley tried to get mad or tried to move on those sparkling blue eyes would take over her thoughts and Spencer's scent and touch would control her senses. Any girl Ashley attempted to sleep with just didn't compare to Spencer even though Ashley hardly knew her she felt the connection and it wouldn't leave her. She had considered contacting Spencer and had found her on facebook but after seeing her relationship status updated to 'engaged' Ashley put any ideas of contact to bed.

"Hey Ash you're needed" Kyla announced as she dropped down next to Ashley shocking her from her thoughts.

"Why?" Ashley snapped angry that Kyla had interrupted her Spencer thoughts.

"Bridesmaid dress"

"Can't I do it another day?" Ashley whined.

"Er no the wedding is in like 3 days Ash"

"Oh yeah….I'll be right there"

"Look Ash modern technology is amazing especially with the internet and stuff"

"And your point is?"

"Ring her, facebook her, email her, text her or you could go old school and write to her" Kyla continued feeling genuinely concerned about her cousins defeated attitude.

"She is engaged….to a man and she left Kyla. That's enough signs for me to get the hint" Ashley argued putting her guitar back in its case.

"But she kissed you and fell for you Ash"

"Kyla drop it, it's never going to happen and I'm ok with that"

"Well that's good because she RSVP'd the wedding invite" Kyla replied smugly.

"What?" Ashley had heard Kyla but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"The girl that it's never going to happen with is coming here to Verona in 3 days' time" Kyla said in a more simply manner.

"Who invited her? Why am I only just finding this out?"

"Gran invited her and she just sent Gran an email to confirm"

"Gran has an email address?" Ashley asked confused and completely off topic.

"That's your concern right now?" Kyla mocked.

"Spencer is coming here" Ashley said to herself looking like she might pass out at any second.

"Did you hit your head?" Kyla joked getting a death glare from her older cousin.

"I don't know what to do" Ashley confessed sitting back down.

"Tell her how you feel, no arrogance and no attitude. Just tell her Ashley" Kyla instructed hoping her cousin didn't freak out over the next 3 days.

"I think I'm going to pass out" Ashley moaned being over dramatic.

"Get up diva and go try on your dress" Kyla demanded and Ashley did as she was told for once in her life. Mostly because she was too dazed to do anything else so she went to the bedroom and tried on the white dress that her Gran had picked out. It fit perfectly as Clare had said it would Ashley thought herself as she admired her reflection in the mirror.

"You look beautiful dear" Clare said from the door way where she stood smiling proudly.

"You sure you want us in white as well?" Ashley asked still finding it bizarre that she was wearing a white dress as a bridesmaid.

"Honey I'm on my second marriage to a man that I first knew when I was teenager who I tracked down, I don't think tradition is the way forward with this wedding. Plus you look stunning in white and I want you to look your best when Spencer sees you" Clare explained.

"Gran you can't force this, she may not even make it, she may still hate me and here's the best part she's engaged to a man!" Ashley replied taking off the dress and hanging it back up.

"Oh that Aiden is a douche and Spencer's far too clever to stay with him anyway"

"Gran you can't say douche you're like a thousand years old" Ashley joked.

"Well you can't be so bloody cynical you're only 24 years old Ashley. You've plenty of time to be bitter when you're old and crusty which is why you should enjoy everything now"

"I am enjoying everything now Gran, trust me" Ashley smirked

"I don't mean those mindless bimbos you were 'hooking up' with when you were in LA or England or New York. Don't think I haven't noticed your behaviour Ashley and it makes me sad to think that you would prefer to do that rather than letting yourself fall in love" Clare continued.

"Ok….message received loud and clear Clare! I get it ok. Just drop it please" Ashley begged feeling her emotions coming to the service.

"I love you Ashley" Clare whispered kissing her granddaughter on the forehead and leaving the room. Ashley fell back on to the bed and let out a giant sigh wishing she could go back and undo what had happened so she wouldn't have Spencer Carlin on the brain all the time. Ashley knew Clare was right, she knew Kyla was right. Ashley had changed since meeting Spencer and so had her attitude towards life and towards relationships. She had tried to move on but she hadn't even kissed a girl since Spencer left which was the longest in her adult life she had gone without being with somebody. Ashley knew she needed to do something but she just didn't know what yet and she only has 3 days to decide.


	11. Chapter 11

Hopefully two chapters in one day will start to make up for not posting in forever. Enjoy this and I promise there will be some Spashley soon. Also to all those that have mentioned it I will be trying to update my other stories in the next few days.

Letters to Juliet Chapter 11

"Spencer phonnnnneeee" Spencer's Father called from down the stairs. Spencer rolled over in her childhood bed forgetting how much smaller it was compared to the bed she shared with Aiden in New York.

"Got it" Spencer yelled back picking up the phone next to her bed.

"Hello?" Spencer said in a groggy sleep voice.

"Baby I've been calling your cell"

"Yea sorry the battery must've died" Spencer lied knowing she had just been ignoring the calls.

"I miss you" Aiden confessed catching Spencer off guard.

"Aiden I've only been gone a day, we spent less time together when I was there"

"Why did you go?"

"Aiden we aren't working" Spencer answered honestly.

"And whose fault is that?" Aiden spat clearly annoyed at Spencer's honesty. "Spencer this is why I wanted you to be with me. I asked you to be to front of house precisely to avoid this situation" Aiden added.

"You asked me to be your wife. And I never see you. That's the situation. There's no avoiding it"

"Do we have to do this now? You're been unreasonable" Aiden replied clearly not liking the new honest attitude Spencer had on display.

"You knew that the restaurant would need some sacrifices Spencer. You knew I'd be working long hours, you knew all of this Spencer. You knew that this is who I was"

"And what I'm trying to tell you is I'm not who I was"

"I didn't do anything wrong"

"You're not wrong Aiden. I'm not wrong. We're just wrong together" Spencer explained as she fought her emotions. With her final words Aiden said he still loved her and always would then hung up the phone. Spencer's head was spinning from the conversation, a conversation she didn't expect to be having at 8am. She had planned on calling Aiden that day but after she had thought through her actions and emotions. She knew she had done the right thing but she couldn't help but feel bad. A light knock on her bedroom caught Spencer's attention.

"Come in"

"Hey Carlin" Carmen smiled as she climbed on to the bed noticing the look on Spencer's face straight away.

"What happened? Or are you just hungover?"

"Aiden just called…..I broke up with him" Spencer explained not knowing whether to smile or cry.

"Over the phone?" Carmen asked just getting a nod from Spencer in reply.

"That's fucking brutal Spencer and totally not you but in a good way"

"It was unfair to me and to Aiden for me to carry on going through the motions. My heart wasn't in it"

"That's because your heart is in Verona Spencer" Carmen pointed out feeling quite smug that she was right.

"I booked tickets, we fly tonight" Spencer added with a huge smile handing the airline print off to Carmen.

"I knew it, I can't wait. I'm heading back to mine to pack and I'll pick you up about 7" Carmen instructed jumping off the bed and heading out the door.

Spencer started packing her things for the trip hoping that Ashley wouldn't completely hate when she got there and that she would be able to figure out how she felt about this girl once and for all.

Throwing her toiletries back into her travel Spencer closed it up and headed down the stairs bumping into her father at the bottom who looked more than confused.

"I thought you were here all week?" Arthur asked taking the heavy bag out of Spencer's hands.

"Erm yea about that Dad…..I'm going to Verona" Spencer explaining leaving out the major part of to see a girl who she may or may not love.

"This is very sudden is there a reason why?"

"For a wedding"

"It better not be yours and Aiden's" Arthur half joked knowing his only daughter wouldn't be that reckless.

"Actually I broke up with Aiden this morning"

"Oh….I would say I'm sorry but I'm not that kid was a douche and you can do way better"

"You didn't think to say this when I was with him?" Spencer questioned wondering if anybody she cared about actually liked Aiden.

"You're a smart girl I knew you'd figure it out in your own time or when you found somebody better" Arthur smiled kissing Spencer on the forehead.

"We just weren't right for each other, that's all"

"So there's nobody else?"

"No Dad there's nobody else at least not at the moment" Spencer answered not knowing if she was lying or telling the truth.

"Well whose wedding are you going to?"

"Clare's"

"Who?"

"The lady who wrote to Juliet and I replied"

"Oooooh yes, well that's fantastic honey. It's good to know romance and true love isn't dead"

"Fingers crossed. Anyway I'm going to Verona with Carmen for a week or maybe longer depending on how the wedding goes. I will call when I get there and all that jazz"

"Yes you will…..and I want to know everything" Arthur instructed carrying Spencer's bag outside to Carmen's car.

"Hey Mr C" Carmen chirped as she opened the boot of the car.

"Hello Carmen you excited about your trip?" Arthur asked giving the short dark haired girl a hug. He had known Carmen since she was five and considered her to be part of the family. She still came for dinner even though Spencer was on the other side of the country.

"Can't wait I think it's going to be eventful"

"Most things are when you're involved young lady"

"Awww you know me Mr C I love an adventure"

"Look after Spencer please and make sure she stays in contact with us"

"Yes Sir" Carmen answered doing a salute as a way to mock Arthur.

"Take care honey"

"I will. Say bye to Mom for me if you see her and tell her I'll be back when I'm done in Verona" Spencer explained. Carmen honked the horn once and whizzed off away from Spencer's childhood home. Both girls were over excited about the trip for a number of reasons.

Once they had made it through the hell that is LAX and were sat in their seats on the plan Carmen decided then would be a good time to inform Spencer that she was a nervous flyer.

"Carm more people die in car crashes than they do on plans and considering how you drive I would think you have more chance of dying while driving" Spencer tried her best to calm down her best friend but she couldn't help but laugh at just how nervous Carmen was. Carmen was normally so cool and calm that it had never occurred to Spencer that she could be scared of anything.

"Yea thanks Spencer now I'm never going to drive again"

"You promise?"

"Hey up yours blondie!. I'm a great driver and totally safe…..way better than you" Carmen challenged.

"Yea right you're lethal and completely disregard speed limits"

"You drive like a granny with your face all squished against the window. News flash sitting that close to the windscreen doesn't make you any safer dumbass" Carmen snapped completely oblivious to the fact that the plane had now taken off.

"And running red lights does?" Spencer threw back.

"Have you called ahead and warned Italy about your driving? They should really know so they can make it through the next few days"

"Hey Carm?"

"What?"

"We're totally flying right now"

"Oh my god you sneaky little bitch"

"You're Welcome?"

"Ok thank you Spencer oh great one"

"No problem now excuse me while I freak out" Spencer smiled pretending to read her magazine.

"You'll be fine Carlin…..I promise" Carmen replied softly as she held Spencer's hand knowing full well that her best friend was having an internal battle over whether they should be going to this wedding and what will happen when they get there.


	12. Chapter 12

Letters to Juliet – Chapter 12

After what seemed like forever the two best friends landed in Italy. Spencer had managed to keep Carmen calm during landing but now it was the blondes turn to freak out as the reality of what she was doing and where she was going kicked in. Waiting at baggage claim Spencer just paced the ground like a possessed women.

"Jesus Carlin you're given me motion sickness" Carmen snapped having finally had enough.

"I'm so I'm nervous Carm…what the hell am I doing here?"

"I get that you're nervous and you're here because you love somebody" Carmen answered not knowing whether Spencer actually wanted an answer.

"You're a huge help I'm so glad you're my plus one" Spencer replied sarcastically spotting her bag on the belt.

Once they had claimed their luggage they headed over to the car hire stand.

"Afternoon Ladies do you have a booking with us?" The overly smiley guy behind the stand asked in perfect English.

"Yes under the name Carlin" Spencer answered handing over her id and booking info. The guy tapped some information into his computer and handed over some keys along with some directions to where the car would be parked.

Spencer smiled when she saw the vehicle; it was a beautiful black soft top Porsche. Spencer wouldn't normally pay the extra for a soft top but she felt the need to spoil herself on this trip.

"Wow Carlin good choice" Carmen stated checking out the car.

"I figured we should travel in style" Spencer smiled opening the car so they could put their luggage in the back. There wasn't a lot of room for luggage but it just about fit in plus the car was as sexy as hell so Spencer didn't care. Climbing into the car Spencer hit the button that dropped the top and then she roared the car out of the airport car park accompanied by a girlie squeal from Carmen.

After an hour of driving Spencer started to recognise the roads they were taking as they got closer to the vineyard and the blonde found herself becoming more anxious. They had declined Clare's offer to stay at the vineyard figuring that that would be too weird especially if everything went wrong as Spencer felt it would do. They had booked into a hotel down the road; in fact it was the same hotel that Spencer had stayed in before. The same hotel she had checked out of with no warning or explanation. The very hotel that she had left Ashley at when she had left to pick up her fiancé.

"You ok Carlin?" Carmen asked noticing the far away gaze in her best friends' eyes.

"Yep" Spencer replied turning to Carmen with her best smile trying to reassure her friend.

"It's beautiful here Spence, I'm so glad we're here" Carmen said knowing that Spencer was lying but knowing from years of experience that pushing the youngest Carlin wouldn't get you anywhere.

"Me too Carm. Look there's the hotel" Spencer stated pointing a head where sat the most picturesque building Carmen had ever seen. The hotel was surrounded by a mass of green land and scenery.

"Wow Carlin…..I think I'm actually speechless!" Carmen exclaimed getting over excited.

"I know that isn't true, you haven't stopped talking since the day I met you" Spencer joked pulling the car into a space outside the immense building. Carmen practically jumped out the car clearly overcome with excitement. Spencer grabbed their cases from the car and followed Carmen not wanting to ruin the excitement for her. Spencer had acting exactly the same when she first arrived in the beautiful country but Aiden didn't allow her to be giddy as her kept reminding her they were only there for business purposes. It was only when she met Ashley that she found the excitement of being somewhere new and different. She smiled secretly to herself as she followed Carmen through the main doors.

"Buona sera ho una riserva ai sensi del nome Spencer Carlin" Spencer said in her best Italian shocking Carmen a little bit.

"Benvenuto Miss Carlin. Mi troverete la vostra prenotazione" the elderly gentleman replied clearly understanding Spencer.

"La ringrazio" Spencer smiled at her shocked friend while the guy found their details. The guy smiled and handed a set of keys and gave them directions to their room. Spencer smiled as she walked past the rooms that they had occupied before. Stopping outside room 10 Spencer put the antique looking key into the hole and opened the door revealing a stunning room. Carmen barged past taking in everything the room had to offer making Spencer giggle slightly.

"I'm assuming you approve?" Spencer laughed opening the double doors that led to a balcony. The view took Spencer's breathe away. Their room was situated over the car park and past that the Italian country side rolled for miles in front of her.

"Dude this place is immense, I get why you love it so much now" Carmen answered finally as she joined Spencer on the balcony.

"You don't mind sharing a double do you?" Spencer asked remembering that she had forgotten to mention this to Carmen.

"Share with your gay ass? Of course I do, gross" Carmen joked as she jumped on the giant bed.

"You hungry or anything?" Spencer asked ignoring Carmen's attempt at humour.

"Not really, kind of tired" Carmen confessed stretching out.

"You wanna just crash? The wedding is tomorrow and I figured sleep is the only thing that will stop my brain from exploding" Spencer admitted as she started unpacking her things trying to find something to sleep in.

"Sleep sounds good" Carmen joined Spencer with the unpacking. Carmen knew Spencer was freaking but she didn't know how to make it any easier for her. What she was doing was reckless and insane but Carmen knew it was the right thing for Spencer to do so she tried her best not to get too involved otherwise Spencer would get Carmen to talk her out of it with her Carlin mind tricks.

"She's checked in to prezzos?" Ashley repeated but this time as a question to her cousin who had just told her the news.

"Yes about an hour ago with some dark haired chick?" Kyla explained to her over anxious relative.

"She's here with a chick?" Ashley's excitement soon dissipated when Kyla continued to explain that they were also sharing a double room, not a twin, not two separate rooms but a double. Ashley's happy anxiety was replaced with jealousy and sadness.

"Roberto said that they didn't seem very coupley if that helps" Kyla added hoping more information may help.

"Who the hell is Roberto?" Ashley snapped as she paced the room.

"He works at Prezzo's, I've met him a few times and bumped into him just in town"

"I can't believe that Spencer is like 5 minutes from here, from me….with another girl" Ashley sighed wishing she had never got her hopes up.

"Ash they might just be friends who knows. All you need to remember is she is here and you have a chance. Not many people get second chances Ashley" Kyla tried her best to comfort Ashley but her words fell on deaf ears.

"I'm going for a drive Ky…..see you later" Ashley said as she upped and left grabbing her car keys on the way out.

Ashley climbed into her car and just sat there for a minute wondering how she had managed to get to this point. Spencer had left without any explanation all those months ago and it hurt Ashley. She knew deep down that Spencer wasn't hers then so she let her go and she was determined to keep her this time. Ashley was worried she had missed her chance with Spencer and now the blonde was happy with some other girl, someone that wasn't Ashley or even Aiden. Starting her engine Ashley headed towards Prezzo's, she didn't want to wait until the morning to find out what was going on. She needed to know now if she could ever have Spencer Carlin. Pulling up in the car park Ashley sat nervously contemplating her next move and whether she was completely insane or not.

Ashley was pulled from her thoughts when she saw two figures moving on a balcony in front of her. Focusing as best as she could in the dark Ashley saw the two figures embrace in a loving manner and then she heard that laugh. The laugh that had been stuck in her head since the opinionated blonde had briskly exited her life. Ashley focused even more and it was Spencer up there laughing with a short brunette girl. Ashley sat and stared for a moment until she convinced herself that Spencer's blue eyes had landed on her own dark brown ones and without a second thought she sped her car away but taking the imagine of Spencer with her.

The revving car engine pulled Spencer from her trance and she looked back at Carmen, who looked confused beyond belief.

"What's up Carlin?"

"That was Ashley" Spencer whispered in reply going back inside and sitting on the bed.

"In the angry car?"

"Yes" Spencer replied simply as she racked her brains. She wanted to say something but the words wouldn't come out. She wanted to tell Ashley that she could see her but for some reason she couldn't do it. The strange exchange had terrified her even more for the wedding.


	13. Chapter 13

I forgot to add this on my last update but thank you all for your reviews, kind words, adds etc. It's all very lovely and all that jazz. Enjoy x

Letters to Juliet- Chapter 13

Ashley was woken up the next morning by Kyla bounding in to her room muttering something about letters. Ashley chose to ignore her in fact during her drive home last night she had almost decided to have nothing to do with the wedding feigning illness or something but her love for her grandmother had changed her mind yet again. Watching Kyla flit around the room Ashley couldn't help but giggle internally.

"Something funny?" Kyla snapped staring at Ashley with a face like thunder.

"Nope, I'm sorry. What's the problem?" Ashley asked sitting up and frowning at the sun that was filtering through her room.

"Gran forgot to ask me to ask Spencer to do a reading at the wedding" Kyla moaned knowing that mentioning Spencer to Ashley was a bad idea.

"Gran wants Spencer to do a reading?" Ashley repeated not knowing why.

"Yes, apparently she thinks that Spencer would know exactly what to say especially because she started this whole thing" Kyla explained sitting down next to Ashley who looked unaffected by the mention of Spencer.

"Why don't you just call her? You know where she's staying" Ashley suggested trying her best to look cool.

"Wouldn't that be weird? I have never spoken to her before. You should call her or pop by" Kyla argued.

"Oh I've already done the spontaneous drop by and it didn't go to well so you're on your own Ky" Ashley answered trying to get in to the bathroom before Kyla responded but she was too slow.

"You went to see her last night?" Kyla asked pointing out the obvious.

"Yes"

"And?"

"And she is clearly with that midget brunette" Ashley whined.

"How do you know?" Kyla challenged refusing to accept that this love story was over.

"Look Ky just get Gran to call the hotel and leave a message for Spencer. I'm going in the shower and you're going to leave me alone" Ashley instructed slamming the door behind her.

"So that was Clare she wants me to do a reading at the reception" Spencer explained almost passing out on the bed.

"How did she know where you were?" Carmen pondered out loud.

"Oh I don't know….it couldn't be anything to do with the fact that Ashley was here last night?" Spencer snapped.

"Alright calm down drama queen. So did you say you'd do it or did you chicken out like the big chicken that you are?" Carmen was annoyed that Spencer had convinced herself that Ashley hated her again and had spent most of the night convincing her friend to go to the wedding.

"Clare kind of left me no choice" Spencer sighed as she checked over her reflection in the mirror.

"Awesome, so get some clothes on and then we can work on what you're going to say"

"I already know" Spencer smiled as she searched her bag finally pulling out her note book. She scanned the pages and clearly found what she was looking for.

"Care to fill me in?"

"Nope now go get ready"

After half an hour both girls were ready and down the stairs in reception of their hotel. Spencer was wearing a light blue sun dress with flip flops as the invitation had stated casual. She was wearing her honey blonde hair down and loose.

"I have to admit it Carlin…..you look good" Carmen noted as she eyed her friend.

"You don't look to bad yourself Carmen" Spencer returned the favour admiring the light purple dress that Carmen was wearing. It was a rare occasion that the small lantino would wear a dress.

"Ok let's get going" Spencer ordered abruptly.

"Can I drive?" Carmen begged.

"Not a chance in hell chica" Spencer laughed getting into the driver's seat.

Ashley wondered around the small court yard making sure all the guests were happy while Kyla helped Clare get ready. The court yard had been perfectly decorated by Kyla with lots of white flowers and candles. Ashley was pleasantly surprised by her cousin's handy work in fact she was damn right impressed. Seeing Kyla approach in the distance Ashley plastered on her smile and straightened out her flowing white dress.

"Here put this in your hair Ash" Kyla instructed handing Ashley a white flower. Ashley found a car window so she could check her reflection. She placed the white flower in to her curly brown hair and played with the positioning for a while. After a few seconds of messing she was happy with her appearance even though Clare had made her get rid of the red streak that once accompanied her bangs.

"You look amazing Ash" Kyla smiled admiring their reflections in the car window.

"You too little cousin" Ashley replied giving an exaggerating a pose in the window. Ashley turned to Kyla to give her a hug and to thank her for all her support since she had arrived. As Ashley started to pull away a familiar set of light blue eyes distracted her and she couldn't help but freeze. For a few seconds blue and brown eyes mixed together, neither of them moving or blinking.

"Spencer" Ashley finally said after pulling away from Kyla but still holding on to her hand for support. Ashley's eyes scanned over Spencer taking in her perfect appearance, the way her hair was blowing in the summer breeze, the way the sun made her eyes sparkle even more than they usually did. Her private thoughts were ruined when her roaming eyes landed on the smiling brunette who stood next to Spencer.

"Hey Ashley" Spencer finally said having been rendered speechless by the abrupt reunion.

"You came" Ashley asks or states, she wasn't really sure.

"How could I not?" Spencer replied smiling sweetly while trying to keep her eyes off of the brunette stood holding Ashley's hand.

"Clare will be happy" Ashley said not knowing how words were even coming out of her mouth.

"Yep….oh erm this is Carmen" Spencer introduced Ashley to her best friend.

"Nice to meet you Ashley" Carmen smiled widely excited that she was meeting Ashley after Spencer had spent so long talking about her.

"Yea hi, this is Kyla. Kyla this is Spencer" Ashley answered looking less than happy.

"The Spencer? The Spencer that started all of this? I'm impressed" Kyla said shaking Ashley's hand off of hers.

"Apparently so" Spencer smiled trying her best to be polite.

"Sooooo we have to get going" Kyla informed them feeling awkward by the tension.

"Yes duty calls and all that shiz" Ashley agreed going to walk past Spencer but stopping just in front of her.

"You look good Spencer" Ashley added just before walking off. Spencer's smile vanished as she watched Ashley walk away into the small church that was at the head of the court yard.

"Well that went splendidly" Carmen announced finally laughing. Not because it was a funny situation or she enjoyed seeing her best friend in a bad situation, she just couldn't help it.

"She has a girlfriend Carm…she's moved on. I should've done the same thing" Spencer came to a stark realisation.

"Carlin she was checking you out like crazy and plus she was looking at me like she wanted to actually kill me!" Carmen explained following Spencer into the small church.

"She was clearly with that Kyla girl" Spencer argued.

"If they are together then why the hell are they both in the wedding?" Carmen challenged pointing to Ashley and Kyla as they stood by the entrance of the church. Spencer turned to look where her friend was pointing and couldn't help but be amazed by Ashley. She looked stunning and had literally taken Spencer's breathe away.

"I have no idea….now shut up we're in church" Spencer snapped holding Carmen's hand to stop her pointing at Ashley. Spencer sat silently stunned as the bells started ringing and then as if it had been rehearsed a thousand times Ashley started walking down the aisle. She looked nervous and she never took her eyes off Spencer, not for one second.


	14. Chapter 14

Letters to Juliet- Chapter 14

Ashley proudly watched as her Gran vowed to love the mad they had spent what seemed like forever looking for. In fact in now felt like forever since their little adventure, in felt like forever since Ashley had been close to Spencer and their short kiss was a distant memory.

Ashley realised that the ceremony was now over and snapped herself out of the happy memories and followed the new couple out of the church. As she walked down the aisle Kyla squeezed her arm drawing Ashley's attention to Spencer whose eyes seemed to be glued to Ashley and not on the short dark haired girl next to her. Ashley smiled hoping it would be returned which it was but Spencer quickly broke the silent moment by looking away.

"She hates me" Ashley whispered as tried to her best to smile at the other wedding guests.

"Maybe if you talk to her then you'd know!" Kyla snapped through clenched teeth. Once they were outside of the church Ashley tried to look for Spencer and her girlfriend but she couldn't find them through the crowded yard. Once again she had missed her chance with Spencer and her day continued to get worse.

Spencer had dragged Carmen through the crowd so she could avoid Ashley. She felt stupid for coming to the wedding and even more so now she knew Ashley had a girlfriend. Carmen and Spencer headed to their seats for the meal. Spencer watched as Ashley made her way to the head table followed by the girl she was with. Spencer smiled internally as she watched Ashley roll her eyes knowing that the stubborn brunette was probably complaining about something.

"Take a photo Carlin it lasts longer" Carmen quipped nudging Spencer.

"Do they look like a couple to you?" Spencer asked out loud as she watched the 2 brunettes interact.

"Not really…but they look close. Hey here's a crazy idea why don't you just talk to her?" Carmen challenged pouring herself a glass of wine.

"Remind why I invited you?"

"Because of my hot ass?" Carmen joked getting a death stare from her best friend.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the newly married couple. Everybody stood up and applauded as they took their seats. Ashley stood up and took the microphone raising her glass.

"So I was told I couldn't make a speech so I'll just get right to it….. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I

present for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo D'Annunzio..." Ashley said with a proud smile holding her champagne glass in the air and everybody followed suit.

"Now I believe that Mrs D'Annunzio would like say a few words….Gran?" Ashley passed her Gran the microphone and they shared a short hug which was clearly full of affection.

"I won't keep you long as I'm sure most of you have heard the story of how I met my husband…." Clare's words were interrupted by people in the crowd encouraging her to tell the lovely story.

"Fifty Seven years ago I wrote a letter that asked a question….fifty seven years later I got an answer" Clare looks into the crowd and her eyes fall to Spencer who shuffles awkwardly in her seat next to a beaming Carmen.

"Spencer? Dear? Would you stand up?" Spencer hesitates and then stands up as requested. She feels herself turning bright red and this only worsens as her eyes clash with Ashley's.

"Spencer gave me my answer. She wrote me a letter and without it none of this would be possible, none of us would be here today. So it only seems fitting that I ask Spencer to share some of it with us today" Clare smiled sweetly at Spencer knowing that the young writer would have brought the letter with her. Spencer shyly smiled and nodded as she was handed another microphone. Spencer took a folded piece of paper from her clutch and cleared her throat.

"'What' and 'if' two words as nonthreatening as words come. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: 'What if?'" Spencer pauses and her eyes meet Ashley's again and they share a look that makes Spencer more nervous than she already was.

"I don't know how your story ended. But I know that if what you felt then was love- true love- then it's never too late. If it was true then why wouldn't it be true now? You only need the courage to follow your heart" Spencer could feel Ashley's eyes burning into and it was becoming too much for her. Staring intently at the folded paper Spencer continued.

"I don't know what love like that feels like…a love to leave loved ones for….but I'd like to believe if I ever felt it I'd have the courage to seize it. I hope you had the courage to seize it Clare. And if you didn't I hope one day that you will" Spencer could feel her eyes misting over with tears as she folded the paper away and placed into back into her bag. The crowd clapped loudly and congratulated Spencer for her words. Spencer and Ashley were still looking at each other but Ashley looked away as the girl next to her said something into her ear. Spencer felt jealously rip through her and she couldn't take it anymore, noticing that the crowd were now occupied by dinner arriving Spencer excused herself.

Ashley felt frozen to her seat as she saw the hurt expression rip across Spencer's face. She saw Spencer heading away from the court yard and wanted to after her but had assumed that her girlfriend would follow. The girl with Spencer didn't budge in fact she seemed to be looking at Ashley as if she was trying to tell her something.

"For gods sake Ashley would you go and talk to Spencer!" Clare snapped seeing the emotional moment unearth in front of her. Ashley didn't question Clare or argue back, she just got up and left. Running through the crowd Ashley tried to follow Spencer but lost her. Mentally kicking herself Ashley continued to look around finally spotting Spencer sitting on the pier with her feet dangling in the water. Building up the courage Ashley walked over and took a seat next Spencer on the pier.

"What are doing?" Ashley asked immediately feeling stupid.

"I'm leaving" Spencer replied standing up not been able to look at Ashley.

"Why?" Ashley asked as she followed the blonde.

"I shouldn't have come here!" Spencer snapped continuing to walk away.

"Jesus Spencer did you even listen to the words you were just saying? To what you wrote?"Ashley continued grabbing Spencer's arm and stopping her from going any further.

"I'm happy for you….she's gorgeous not what I imagined at all" Spencer stated changing the subject.

"Who?" Ashley asked confused by the off comment.

"The girl" Spencer stated trying to reign in her emotions.

"That's Kyla…..she's my cousin" Ashley explained.

"Is that even legal?" Spencer continued clearly not listening to what Ashley was really saying.

"Spence she's my cousin and euw. She's like a sister to me, we practically grew up together. Anyway you're the one that brought a date" Ashley was annoyed that Spencer would think so little of her.

"Carmen's my best friend….whatever I'm going" Spencer was no annoyed by the same assumption she had made. This time Ashley didn't follow her, she just watched her walk away but something inside her stopped her apathy.

"Don't go" Ashley yelled stopping Spencer in her tracks. The blonde turned around and marched towards Ashley stopping only a few feet away.

"Why? Why would I stay Ashley?" Spencer challenged.

"Because I have watched my Gran since she met Lorenzo and I cannot wait another 50 odd years" Ashley started to explain as she started edging closer to Spencer.

"I can't wait 50 years to tell you that I love you Spence" Ashley felt all the tension go out of her body and it felt good to be honest.

"What?" Spencer whispered not sure if she had heard Ashley correctly.

"That kiss wasn't a mistake. Badly timed but not a mistake" Ashley added hoping to make everything clear to Spencer who looked dumbfounded.

"You love me?" Spencer asked dumbly.

"Yes" Ashley answered honestly.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?" Spencer wondered as she took in Ashley's expression.

"Like what?"

"Terrified"

"Because I'm fucking terrified that you don't love me back and that I'm doing this with no hope of you loving me back. I'm terrified that you'll be too scared to love me back and that we'll never know what this is or what it could be….what we could be" Ashley explained becoming more and more emotional. Spencer couldn't help but smile as she watched Ashley become more flustered.

"Why are you smiling?" Ashley snapped.

"I love you too Ash" Spencer laughed moving closer to Ashley. Ashley smiled as the relief washed over her body and she took her moment to move closer to Spencer. Placing her hand on the blondes flushed cheek she moved closer so there were mere inches between them.

"I'm going to kiss you now is that ok?" Ashley asked only for Spencer to answer her question by pressing their lips together. The kiss lasted a lot longer than their first one and this felt better. It was sweeter and pure they were able to explore each other without guilt or regret. Spencer built up the courage to move her hands to Ashley hips and she felt the brunettes breathe hitched as her hands found their place.


	15. Chapter 15

So I tried to write another chapter for this story but I really struggled. I had based Ashley and Spencer on the characters from the film so much that it made it difficult to progress past where the film ends. So have decided that the last chapter is the end, as in the film. I'm sorry if that disappoints anyone but I didn't want to write something just for the sake of it.

Thank you all for reading my story and for reviews, adds and alerts etc. I will be finishing up my other stories and possibly starting a new one at some point so keep yours peeled.

Love, Peace and Empathy

Jess xxx


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